MLM Online
MLM Online The Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your DOWNline ONLINE
By The Critically Acclaimed Author of Surviving the ‘90s, Dare to Dream, & Billions Online and Co-Founder of Solution X
Ken Forrest & Rodger Smith The Co-Founder of MyMangosteen.com and Solution X
Copyright © 2008 by RoK Lives Publishing. Published by RoK Lives Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recorded, photocopied, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. 978-0-9822351-0-2 Printed in the United States of America
Contents Introduction ..........................................................................9 Why You Should Listen to Ken and Rodger ....................9 The Order of Things in This Book.................................10 An Introduction to Rodger Smith .................................11 Meet Ken Forrest ..........................................................15 Pay Close Attention to What We’re About To Say .........17 Old School vs. New School ...........................................20 Treat Your Business Like a Business ...............................22 A Final Word Before We Jump Into It ...........................23 Chapter 1: Getting Started ..................................................23 A Simple Truth..............................................................24 Get Your Own Story .....................................................25 Never Stop Learning .....................................................25 Being On the Right Team .............................................27 Your Mindset ................................................................31 Important Enough to Say More Than Once ..................32 Are You a Product Person or Opportunity Person? ........33 When You’re Ready to Quit ..........................................35 5 Steps to Success ..........................................................38 A “Real” Business ..........................................................39
Chapter 2: Step #1: Get the System & Learn the 5 Steps .....41 Chapter 3: Step #2: Get Business Cards (Marketing Cards) .45 Chapter 4: Step #3: Get Trained ..........................................47 The Importance of Mentors ..........................................48 Two Schools of Thought ...............................................48 Using Mentors ..............................................................50 Chapter 5: Step #4: Begin Marketing ..................................53 Types of Marketing .......................................................53 Effective Marketing .......................................................56 Chapter 6: Step #5: Follow Up and Close............................61 But I’m Not a Great Salesperson ...................................66 Chapter 7: Putting It All Together .......................................71 Building Trust ...............................................................72 Prospecting ...................................................................73 Examples of Questions for Prospects .............................75 Chapter 8: Persistence Pays Off! ..........................................85 Chapter 9: Learning From the Best .....................................87 Barry Byrd ....................................................................88 Robert Dean .................................................................89 Mark Ewell....................................................................90 Ricky Frank ..................................................................90 Herschel Gibbs..............................................................91 Keith Halls ....................................................................91 Mark Hughes ................................................................93
Mitch Huhem ...............................................................93 Tommy and Carolyn Johnson .......................................94 James Robison...............................................................95 Bob Schmidt..................................................................95 James Tucker..................................................................96 Dell Williams ................................................................97 Gene Yamagata..............................................................97 Chapter 10: Dare to Dream Big! .........................................99 Take Action .................................................................100 The Power of Commitment: .......................................100 Two Options ...............................................................101 Chapter 11: How to Succeed in Business...........................105 5 Steps to Success ........................................................106 Chapter 12: Step 1: Dream Big .........................................109 Start Thinking Like a Frogger ......................................110 Get Very Clear ............................................................111 Gotta Have a Deadline! ...............................................112 Get Passionate…or Get Out! ......................................113 Chapter 13: Step 2: Tool ...................................................115 The First Tool ..............................................................115 The Second Tool .........................................................116 Find a Mentor .............................................................116 Get Connected............................................................117 Chapter 14: Step 3: Train ..................................................119 Chapter 15: Step 4: Start! ..................................................121
Seizing Opportunity....................................................122 Talk is Cheap. Take Action! .........................................122 Live Like a Lion ..........................................................124 Chapter 16: Step 5: Finish! Focus or Fail ...........................125 Eliminate the Negative ................................................125 Visualize Your Victory .................................................126 Chapter 17: Recapping the 5 Steps to Success ...................129 Step 1: Dream BIG! ....................................................129 Step 2: Tool .................................................................129 Step 3: Train................................................................130 Step 4: Start! ...............................................................130 Step 5: Finish! .............................................................130 Take Inventory of Your Past ........................................130 Succeed in the Future ..................................................131 Now It’s Up to You......................................................131
Introduction
Y
W Y S L K R
OU’RE about read the words of two gentlemen, Ken Forrest and Rodger Smith, who will share a proven formula for success in multi-level marketing. MLM “gurus” are a dime a dozen—sharing recycled information that may or may not be accurate. The bottom line is simply that most of them have never actually done what they say you can accomplish with your MLM business. Ken and Rodger have both made millions of dollars using the Internet, and they have both built successful MLM organizations with tens of thousands of people in their downlines. They have both lived the very experiences they will be sharing with you in this book. Ken and Rodger have both had high levels of success outside the MLM industry as well, giving them well-rounded, rock-solid views of the realities of the business world. Each has traveled his unique path through corporate America and self-employment to arrive as mentors to those who wish to be top-level distributors in their companies. These men have a sincer`e desire to see you succeed using the wealth of knowledge they have amassed in their journeys. They’ve boiled it all down into this short book and have created a system you can engage immediately to begin your journey to success as an MLM distributor. 9
K F R S
T O T T B This book will begin by introducing you to Rodger Smith and Ken Forrest and sharing a few details about their backgrounds in building successful MLM businesses and making money online. You’ll then read their five-step success formula, where you’ll be given the specific tools you need to succeed in MLM online. You’ll find a veritable feast of wisdom carefully crafted into a step-by-step system you can put into action immediately. After you’ve familiarized yourself with their system, you’ll read about a number of highly successful players in the MLM industry. Their inspiring stories will help you see what is genuinely possible for you to achieve as you apply the system you’ve discovered in this book. Finally, you’ll enjoy the digest version of Ken’s book, Dare to Dream. In these chapters, you’ll discover an approach to accomplishing meaningful outcomes in everything you do in your personal and business life. Ken’s power-packed story and map to success will become an invaluable tool to you in building your successful MLM business, and will find place in many other areas of your life as well. Let’s begin!
MLM O
A I R S I have made it big in the corporate world. I have made it big in the MLM world. I have turned companies around and I have taken successful companies to new levels. Now it’s my aim to share a few nuggets of wisdom with you. More specifically, I’m going to share a system with you that can create an MLM organization faster, more efficiently, and more effectively than anything else you’ve ever tried. I’m not hesitant or bashful in saying that what you’re going to be exposed to in this book is absolutely life-changing ... if you’ll allow it to be. I grew up in humble—even poor—circumstances. My father was an alcoholic. When I was just four years old, my mother took my sisters and me and left him to protect us from the abusive environment we had lived in. Because Mom didn’t have the means to give me what I wanted, I had to work for what I got. I worked on a farm in Idaho while I was in school. A typical day began at 4:30 a.m., when I’d go move irrigation lines before school started. I’d move them again during my lunch break, then again after school. Although there are many experiences I could share to paint a picture for you of the lifestyle we lived, perhaps the image of suicide tells the story best. When I was 16 years old, my older sister attempted suicide for the second time. The image I carry with me as I tied towels around her wrists and rushed her to the hospital will forever be with me. Then, just a few years ago, my other sister succeeded in taking her own life. Through our struggles I dreamed about creating a different life—a better, happy life—for my family and myself. I dreamed of starting my own business and becoming super-successful. In
K F R S
an effort to turn that dream into a reality, I went to college. I was the first person in my family to do this. I worked hard, got a good job, and began climbing the corporate ladder. I had arrived. I was making six figures and had a 401(k) and stock in the company at Ancestry.com. I had a great bonus package and a corner office with a view of the mountains. I reached all the goals the company gave me to accomplish; I hit the revenue numbers I was supposed to. I had beaten the odds. I had gone from rags to riches. I was one of those success stories you hear about that make you feel good about living the American dream. Then, one day, it all went away. After taking the company from $8 million to $20 million over a two-year period and increasing the subscriber base from 110,000 to over 300,000 (making Ancestry.com number three in the world for Internet subscription sales), I was let go and had to watch someone else take over the team I had built. So much for stability. I realized that the days of working hard for a company until you retire and getting a gold watch and a pension were long gone. In hindsight I am, of course, grateful for that event in my life. It freed me and allowed me to move on to bigger and better things. I’ve discovered, as I’m sure you have, that this is often the case. Something we perceive as being the worst possible thing that could happen hits us broadside, but in the end it proves to be a gift—a blessing in disguise. Within a year, I found a company called Floppy Copy. It was a company that needed help being turned around and was eking out a measly $2 million a year. I visited with Shane Argyle, the company’s owner, we discussed a plan, and I became the company’s director of sales and marketing. I led the re-branding of the company to IntegraCore and pushed annual revenues
MLM O
from $2 million to $20 million in less than two years. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Shane. He’s one of the quality people I’ve met along the way. I have great respect for him. We made some extremely powerful and lasting changes in that company that have stood the test of time. While I was at IntegraCore, a guy who had worked for me at Ancestry.com, Chris Peterson, called. It was the fall of 2002 and Chris had contacted me to tell me his cousin, Aaron Garrity, was starting an MLM company called XanGo. He knew I had some experience with MLM both at the corporate level and as a distributor. He saw me as valuable from the standpoint of what I knew and what I could do for him as a distributor. (Of course, he was trying to sign me up!) He invited me to a meeting, and I went. The rest, as they say, is history. Together, with a few other colleagues, we developed an online recruiting and training system called MyXanGo.com (MyMangosteen.com). It was one of the first tools ever to leverage technology and the Internet with business, marketing and MLM training. Using this tool, our XanGo business took off and our group became enormously successful. So profitable, in fact, that I was able to quit my job and do XanGo full-time. Then, after a few years of working together, Chris and I went our separate ways. That’s when I joined Ken at Solution X and we combined our knowledge and experience to reach more people with a new and improved InterNetworking system. Through all of my MLM business experiences, one thing remains undeniably true. Your financial success in MLM is absolutely, one hundred percent, totally, and completely tied to the success of your downline. You should recruit the best people you possibly can to be on your front line, then coach, praise,
K F R S
and help them in any way you can to help them be everything they can be. That’s how MLM works! Surround yourself with the best people you can find. Give them what they need to succeed. Readily give credit to them for everything they do. Make them as successful as possible. This is how truly successful people do it. At the end of the day, it’s all about people.
MLM O
M K F You’re going to read a lot more about me and my background at the end of this book, so let me begin by simply sharing my history with making money using the Internet. I have started multiple successful Internet-based companies since 1996. SportsNuts.com went public for more than $400 million during the dot-com boom and crashed to almost nothing when the bubble burst, but it’s still in business today, 12 years later. Not too many Internet company founders can say that. In 2004, I founded Solution X (solutionx.com). By 2007, it was a six-million-dollar-a-year company servicing MLM companies and clients worldwide with Internet marketing tools and technology. In 2008, at the time of writing, we could break $20 million in revenues. I have been an MLM distributor with a half-dozen companies over the past 23 years. I wish I could say I had picked just one and stuck with it, but I haven’t been that lucky or smart. When I was about 23 I was making more than $30,000 a month with a diet-based MLM company where I had about 10,000 people in my downline. At 24, that company was out of business and I was really bummed. At 25, I joined a new MLM company from my home state of Texas—a service company with a technology-based product. I grew to become a national training director with that company and got to over 50,000 distributors and customers in my downline. To be honest, even with that many people my income never exceeded $25,000 a month because of the low commissions paid on their products. I have made millions of dollars over the Internet and with MLM. I am addicted to both. I love the leverage of MLM and I love the always-on, global reach of the Internet. What we’re
K F R S
about to share with you is a way to use BOTH! It’s an actual formula to help you succeed. We are about to teach you how you can build a downline, online. If that sounds good to you, then start paying attention. All you need to do is pick the right company, apply the steps to success you’ll discover in this book, and stick with it. If you do this, you will wake up as an MLM/Internet millionaire in three to five years—maybe even less. It’s all up to you. It always is!
MLM O
P C A W W’ A T S We’re going to drive a few points home with you over and over in this book. It’s not because we’ve lost our minds, and it’s not because we don’t remember that we’ve already said it. It’s because by the time you’re finished reading this short book, we want you to really understand and own this simple, yet very powerful approach to building your MLM Internet business. Your business consists of three basic elements: 1.) your business cards (we also refer to them as marketing cards—same thing), 2.) your website, and 3.) a telephone. That’s it. Really! When we say “your website” throughout this book, we’re talking about a website that has been prepared for you by your company or by our company, Solution X, that includes some very specific elements that are absolutely mandatory for your success. Your company may already have a system that handles the tasks we’re going to talk about. If that’s your situation, great. Just get to work! If you’re not sure, check out what your company has in the way of online systems, and see if your distributor website meets these five criteria: 1.) It must be identified as personal and specific to you so that only you get credit for all business that comes through it. It must have your name, phone and email address on every page. 2.) It must have a FREE TOUR clearly visible on the home page so that when you start sending people to your site and tell them to take the FREE TOUR they don’t get confused when they get there. This FREE TOUR must clearly and quickly (under 10 minutes, preferably
K F R S
using video) share your company, product and opportunity with your potential customers and fellow, future Internet entrepreneurs. 3.) It must be able to collect a lead at the end of the FREE TOUR. Hopefully it can also give or sell a sample of your product right there as well and allow a prospect to actually join on the spot with online application forms. 4.) In what we call your back office (it is called many different things in different companies), your system must have great lead management and notification tools. It must also have the ability to send out autoresponder emails to anyone who visited your site and left their contact information requesting that you contact them. In other words, the system must be able to email your leads a nice message from you even if you are away from your computer. It must also be able to store your leads and allow you to view, forward, email, call, or work these leads in the best ways possible. And it’s really helpful if your web system notifies you every time you get a new lead, make a sale, sign up a new Internet entrepreneur, or have a team member take a training class. 5.) Your system’s back office must have—and we mean MUST HAVE—training modules. These are classes or videos all new Internet business owners like you and your downline can take at their leisure, over and over, 24/7, from anywhere in the world. THIS IS A MUST! These five components are essential to your success with the system we are about to teach you. Many systems have a lot more features and tools than these five. That’s OK. There are other tools that can be helpful, although more doesn’t always
MLM O
mean better. But if your system doesn’t have at least these five crucial components you, my friend, are being handicapped, and the system we’re about to share with you will not be nearly as effective for you. A truly great system will, in fact, have many more features and tools like calendars, email tools, Internet marketing training and tools, contact managers, photo albums, FAQs, presentations, recognition elements, conference call libraries, forums for sharing success stories, and more. If you don’t have these and would like them, just contact us at Solution X (SolutionX.com) and we will help you get exactly what you need.
K F R S
O S . N S The old school of MLM says you need to hold meetings and recruiting parties to build your business. We want to say loud and clear right up front that there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, meetings (at the right time, in the right place, with the right purpose) are a must. They are a necessary venue to share experiences, train, and motivate. But no one wants to go to another meeting as their first introduction to an MLM! There are plenty of multi-millionaire MLMers who have built their businesses this way. We would discredit ourselves and offend many of our good friends in the industry if we were to say these methods don’t work. They do—for those who can successfully get people to come to those events. But there is a HUGE group of people out there who have tried this method of building an MLM downline and have failed miserably. People turn down their invitations. They get rejected. They talk to a few people and give up. They fail! The system we’re sharing with you is an option for this age of technology that can very legitimately eliminate those fears and thus dramatically improve your chances for success. The key to its success is something we call card marketing. This system has five simple steps. 1.) You need a professional website that does exactly what we just outlined a moment ago. 2.) You need professional-looking business cards with your name and web address on them (but not all your other contact information!). 3.) You need to be properly trained on how your new Internet business operates. (This training is available
MLM O
to you completely free 24/7 at our personal websites, www.KenForrest.com or www.RodgerSmith.com, if your company does not have it available.) 4.) You need to be properly trained on how to market your new Internet business using your unique business cards. (This training is also available to you absolutely free at our personal websites if your company does not offer it.) 5.) You need to be properly trained on how to follow up and close the deal with people who have visited your site, taken the FREE TOUR, left their personal information, and asked you to call them! (Again, this free training is also available at our personal websites.) Once you master these last few steps of marketing and learn to spend your time following up only with willing and wanting prospects, you will see your business reach new levels of success.
K F R S
T Y B L B “You have to treat this business like a business to be successful!” Everyone says this. It’s true, and we had said the same thing many times ourselves before it struck Rodger one day that maybe his audience didn’t know what that means. After all, most of them probably hadn’t owned their own businesses before. Stopped by this thought, Rodger asked his audience how many of them had owned or currently owned a business. Only about five percent of the group raised their hands. Employees don’t understand what owners understand. They don’t have the liability of the business on their shoulders. At the close of business each day, they leave with their pay regardless of how the business is doing. You’re going to be (or already are) a business owner with your MLM business. You need to know what owners know. We’ll share everything you need to know in this book. The good news is, many of the details that most business owners need to deal with in an MLM Internet business will be taken care of by corporate. This, along with the low barrier to entry, makes MLM one of the best business opportunities out there. Better than starting your own business from scratch. Better than buying a franchise. And decidedly better than working for someone else!
MLM O
A F W B W J I I Practice makes perfect. Read, re-read, and implement the five steps we share with you in this book and you’ll be on your way to the success you’re looking for in your business. Getting the training you need and applying the things you learn in that training are paramount to your success. In any business, there are key elements you must have in order to succeed. They are all right here for you as you embark on your direct-sales business. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Do the steps in order. Don’t skip any steps. And you’ll have a powerful, proven success system available to you and your fellow Internet entrepreneurs. There are many ways to make money in multi-level or network marketing. You may have already found some of them for yourself. That’s great! But if you are just starting out, or if you want to add the most potent marketing tool available to your marketing arsenal, you’ve found it right here. You’re going to discover how to harness the power of the Internet in a simple, effective way that literally anyone can do. By implementing the system we have proven over time and are now bringing to you, you will instantly be an Internet business owner with all the support and systems you need to be successful. There are many shallow and unproven systems out there as well. Don’t be fooled by people who are making money on half-baked “systems,” or by people who have never been successful in direct sales who are trying to sell you something to teach you how to succeed when they never have. You’re about to become familiar with a simple-to-follow system that has proven its value repeatedly
K F R S
by making many people millionaires in many different direct sales companies providing a variety of services and products.
C
Getting Started
A
S you begin, it’s important to realize you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The “wheel”—the system—has already been invented, tested, and proven for you. Everything you need is right here. There’s no conjecture, no guessing—just the tried and true facts. People are making over $100,000 a month using the very system you’re going to be using as soon as you finish reading this book. Here are two things that will help you succeed: 1.) Keep it simple. Too many people seem to think that if it’s going to work—if it’s going to make big money—it has to be complicated. Get that notion out of your head right now. It is simple. Don’t try to make it otherwise. 2.) Never give up. From the naysayers who have told you not to get into this business in the first place, to the moments of frustration or discouragement you will encounter along the way, you must commit now that you are not going to give up. Period. You are an intelligent person who has a huge opportunity. Don’t let anyone, including yourself, tell you otherwise. Success will be yours! 25
K F R S
One of the things you’ll discover in the process of reading this book is information about a website that has been prepared just for you. It’s your website. Along with the other uses for this website you’ll see as you read, this website is also a place for you to get ongoing training and help. Use it regularly. It is a powerful key to your success. Many people fail in business because they lack the right tools or information to succeed. They may even take time to do their homework and find what they believe to be accurate information. Unfortunately, it’s usually only after they act on that misinformation that they realize they missed the mark. You have a HUGE advantage in that you can move forward with full confidence knowing the information you have is accurate. Don’t underestimate the power of the training tools in this book or the back office of your website. Get to know them well. Listen to and read the material repeatedly until it’s part of you.
A S T Let us share a simple truth with you: Money makes you rich. Doesn’t seem like much of a revelation, does it? But here’s the rest of the simple truth that perhaps someone has forgotten to share with you in the past: Money makes you rich, and products drive the business to make that money for you so you can be rich. Still wondering where the revelation is in that? Here it is plain and simple: You must use and believe in the products you’re representing if you’re going to be successful. This is extremely important. Tough times are going to hit. Discouragement will set in. If you don’t have a firm belief in what you’re doing and what you’re selling, you won’t last. So here’s what you need to do.
MLM O
G Y O S There’s an old saying that is as true as anything else in this world. It goes like this: Facts tell. Stories sell! You can talk until you’re blue in the face sharing all the facts you’ve learned about the products you have to offer or the compensation plan in your company, but until you have a compelling story, you’re just telling, not selling. Get the product. Use it. Believe in it. Find your story. If you need to lean on someone else’s story for a while, that can work. It’s not out of the question. But ultimately, it has to be your story. That’s where the real success happens. Get on auto-ship (or whatever your company calls it) right now. Use your company’s products religiously. This is a must! As you share your story and help other people get involved and create their own stories, be genuine. Everyone can see through a fake. Maybe not at first, but if you’re not genuine, it will catch up with you and bite you hard! If others know you care about them, they’ll follow you and allow you to help them in molding their own success stories. Even if you want to build your entire downline online you have to be a believer in your products.
N S L Even after you’re successfully making the money you want, never stop learning. Know everything you possibly can about your company, its products, the compensation plan, and anything else that will make you an invaluable resource to others in the company. Learn from everyone. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn from people who are new in the company as well as people who aren’t in your company at all. Of course,
K F R S
you’ll always be able to glean plenty from those who have more experience than you in your company. Learn from everyone as you go along. Remember that you can learn what not to do as well as what you should do from simply observing others and listening to them. Stay in a mode of learning always. One of the great ways to learn, especially in the beginning, is to click on every link on your website. Discover what is on your website, and study the details of the material. Do this again and again until you know it inside out and backwards. You’ll benefit from this knowledge directly, and you’ll also become a resource to others in your organization. This is what you want! Be the go-to person who has the answers. This will serve you well in building your organization. After you’re well versed in the details of your MLM Internet business (and even when you’re still on the path to becoming well versed), make sure you keep it simple. This is not a complex system. Don’t make it something it doesn’t have to be or wasn’t meant to be. It’s simple! There’s a lot to learn, but it is simple! Keep it that way for yourself and everyone in your organization. As you read the five steps in this book, you’ll see that it all boils down to getting people to your website to take your FREE TOUR, letting the tools do the work for you in educating your prospects, and then sorting through them. Then you follow up only with those who are interested. (We call these people the willing and wanting. They are willing to leave their contact information at your website because they are wanting you to call them.) Then you have to learn to close them. Argh! Did we say close? As in close the sale? Yes, we did. The good news is we expect you have no idea how to close a prospect, so we have written a training class called “Follow Up and Close” and we will hold your hand and teach you how to do this. If you can’t do it, you
MLM O
won’t make any money. So, if you are wondering right this very second if you are capable of ever learning to close someone, you can jump to the back of the book right now and read the chapter entitled “Follow Up and Close,” or just go to one of our personal websites (www.KenForrest.com or www.RodgerSmith. com) and watch the “Follow Up and Close” training class. This isn’t brain surgery or rocket science. It’s simple. But don’t waste any more of your time in this business if, after taking this training course, you still think you can’t close a prospect. YOU MUST LEARN TO DO IT. IT’S NOT AN OPTION.
B O R T Just as having the right manager, coach, and teammates is crucial to winning in team sports, it’s important to have the right team to succeed in your business. In the case of a multilevel marketing company, your team consists of the executive team at corporate, other corporate personnel, your sponsor and upline, and your downline. The better each of these team members is, the greater your success will be! Begin by finding the right company. Study the executive team. Make sure you’re jumping in with a team that has experience and knows what they are doing. Then look for a sponsor/ mentor who supports his or her organization. Get someone who is actively involved in the building of his or her downline and who has a powerful, active upline. Then work to become that same person for your downline. Be everything for your team that you expect your upline to be for you. Although there are many individuals on your team, there is one player you want to pay particular attention to: the
K F R S
company itself. Understand what is unique about the company with which you’ve aligned yourself. Be able to articulate that uniqueness clearly and help others understand why you chose to align yourself with the company you’re with. Following are some pieces of information about MLM companies for you to chew on. We’re not going to recommend any particular MLM company for you to join. That’s your decision. But suffice it to say that the common elements among successful MLM distributors (or, as we call you, MLM/Internet Business Owners) are far too strong to ignore. When choosing the company with which you are going to create your business relationship, consider the following: t ɨF.BOBHFNFOU5FBN)PXTPMJEJTUIFNBOBHFNFOU team? What is their experience in the MLM industry? Do they understand the needs of you as a distributor and self-employed business owner working with them? t " 3FBM 1SPEVDUɨF QSPEVDU ZPVSF PĊFSJOH IBT UP be compelling. You can have a great compensation plan and lots of excitement and hype going on in the company, but if you don’t have a real product that real people are really going to use, your business will not be a long-term one. Fads come and go. Bogus products are exposed for what they truly are (or, we might say, what they aren’t), MLM companies without real products close down and go away, and the distributors who have worked to build their businesses are left to start over again somewhere else. You don’t want to find yourself in that boat. Find a company with a real, compelling product. t 5JNJOH JO UIF *OEVTUSZ BOE .BSLFUQMBDF8IBU JT
MLM O
the market being served by the MLM company you’re considering working for? Has that need already been met? Is the market saturated? Is the education curve too long? Will the company (and you) lose momentum before the product catches on? There are many great ideas out there, but great ideas don’t necessarily translate into great companies or product lines. The market must be ready for what you’re offering. Timing in the marketplace and your specific industry are important for your success. t 5JNJOH JO UIF $PNQBOZɨFSF BSF WBSJPVT TDIPPMT of thought as to when the best time is to align oneself with an MLM company. Like any other business, you want to strike while the iron is hot. You want to be part of motion and energy. So consider the company you’re looking at hooking up with: is it in a stage of growth, or has it leveled off? You may think this means working with an established company is a bad thing. Not at all. It just needs to be in growth mode. t 'JOBODFT*TUIFDPNQBOZZPVSFDPOTJEFSJOHmOBODJBMMZ stable? Is it, perhaps, even debt-free? Financial stability means everything to the success of any company in this dog-eat-dog world. You don’t want to see your hard work vaporize because the company you’re working with lacked staying power to get through the barriers every MLM company has to plow through. t 3FHVMBUPSZ *TTVFT"UUPSOFZT HFOFSBM TFFN UP MPWF making an example of MLM companies. Admittedly, some of them deserve the legal attacks brought upon them, but some do not. Is the company you’re considering currently involved in any regulatory issues? If
K F R S
so, look into them and decide whether you think the claims are founded. Remember, perception is reality in each person’s mind, so even if the issues being brought against the company are not legitimate, they may still pose problems for you as an affiliate of that company. t $PNQFOTBUJPO 1MBOɨF RVFTUJPO IFSF JT TJNQMZ “Can I make money with this company’s compensation plan?” You’re going to spend a given amount of time each week building your business. You’re going to contact a given number of people. You’re going to recruit a certain number of those people. You’re going to move some quantity of product. You want to make the most money you can for those efforts. Over the years we’ve seen compensation plans that have blown our minds with their money-making potential, and we’ve seen compensation plans that, despite peak performance, still pay a relatively small amount to the distributor. Be cautious and find a company with a plan that works for you and your situation. t ɨF8IPMF1BDLBHF/PXMPPLBUUIFXIPMFQBDLBHF the management team, the product(s), timing in the industry and marketplace, timing in the company, finances, regulatory issues, and the compensation plan. Is the package compelling as a whole? Does it get you excited? Will it excite other people? Can you believe in it and sell it? You have to be able to answer yes to this if you expect to succeed. Here are just a few final facts for you to think about as you undertake the task of choosing the right company: More than 4,100 MLM companies have sprung up in the
MLM O
past 50 years. Out of those, only eight have exceeded annual sales of $1 billion and only 27 have exceeded annual sales of $100 million. Of those 27, six have gone out of business despite their previous success. So there are 21 companies with annual revenues of $100 million or more. Add to that the factors of growth stage, new product introduction and diversification, financial stability, management strength, and regulatory factors, and the field becomes very narrow. The bottom line is this: make sure you do the research on the company you’re considering aligning yourself with and choose one you can stick with for the long haul. You’re going to put the same effort into growing your business regardless of which company you’re with. You might as well choose the one that will bring you the maximum financial benefit for your efforts.
Y M There is a mindset that is necessary to succeed in your new Internet business. Rich people build businesses through networks and by leveraging themselves. They work with other people, not for them. They take responsibility for their own destiny. This is exactly the opportunity you have before you right now. New fortunes are being made every year by people who used to work for someone else. These people have seen an opportunity and seized it. Most of those fortunes are being made with the opportunity that we’re talking about in this book: building a successful MLM business. You have an even greater advantage than most, too, since the majority of those people don’t have the system we’re sharing with you to build their new businesses with. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let us say this again: The more training you receive, the better your chances of
K F R S
huge success. Get into the mindset, get trained using this book and your website, and become one of the next super-success stories out there! One final element of a winning mindset is that of being a finisher. “Focus and Finish!” This is our mantra. You’ll hear it from us often. You must be able to focus on what you want and push to the finish line if you’re going to succeed. Plant this firmly in your mind, then focus and finish!
I E S M T O As we take you through the five-step system of achieving success with your new business, you’re going to hear these things again, in more depth, but they are important enough that we want to plant their seeds in your mind right now. We’ve found repetition to be important in our own learning and trust the same is true for you. As soon as you’re finished reading this book, order 1,000 business cards for yourself through the back office of your website. (This is a feature your system should have built right into it.) When you see you’re getting a little low on cards, order another box. Keep doing this until you are a millionaire. It may sound painfully simple, but it’s integral to your success. Once you have your cards, hand them out to everyone you meet and invite them to go to your website and take your FREE TOUR. Some of these people will leave their names, numbers, and email addresses asking you to contact them. The auto-responder at your website will send them a message letting them know you’ll be contacting them soon. Your website will also notify you by text message and email that you have a
MLM O
new lead—(hopefully) a very hot prospect who has looked at your business and is waiting for a call from you! You will never waste time and energy on people who aren’t interested in the opportunity or product you are offering. Do you understand the beauty of this? It’s huge! You now have proven tools leveraging the power of technology to maximize your returns while minimizing (or eliminating altogether) the hurdles that keep so many people from succeeding at MLM—and you are going to build it all online. When you have a new team member, have him read this book and get trained in the back office of his website immediately. Have him order his marketing cards on the spot. He can start his training during the few days it takes for his cards to show up. There’s no need to wait for anything with this system that has been created and perfected for you. You can get going right now, and so can everyone you bring into your organization. You’re likely already getting a vision of what this book and your MLM Internet business are all about. Good! By the time you’ve read the more detailed information that will follow, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running.
A Y P P O P Knowing who you are in the scheme of your business is important as you talk with people. Are you a product person? In other words, is it the product you’re providing that drew you to your business? Or are you an opportunity person? Is it the business model and compensation plan that have drawn you to enter this business? It doesn’t matter which is your greater focus, but it will help you to identify which person you are.
K F R S
If you’re primarily a product person, make sure you also understand the opportunity side of the business since many people you’ll talk to have a specific interest in the business opportunity. If you’re an opportunity person, make sure you don’t overlook the importance of the product side of the business. Remember our comments about getting your own story? This is true in any case, even if you’re primarily focused on the business opportunity. Whether you’re a product person or an opportunity person, remember you don’t ultimately have to do the work of educating your prospects on your own. It’s important to know enough to carry on an intelligent conversation, but your site is the real key to sorting through your prospects. It is your prime education tool. Hand out your cards actively with an invitation for people to visit your website and look at your business. Get them to your site as quickly as possible. Tell them as much as they need to know to get their interest level to the point they will take the time to go to your site, but don’t go beyond that point. Let your website do its job! One of the great benefits you’ll see with our proven approach to building a successful, money-making Internet-based MLM business—using the corporate MLM company to do most of the hard work—is that we’ve taken out the need for you to attend meetings all the time or have your prospects coming to hotel conference rooms or parties. You don’t have to be a great salesperson, either. Just focus on getting people to your website to take the FREE TOUR. Those who are interested will leave their information. Once they’ve done that, they are pre-qualified. They are the willing and wanting! They have a real interest in looking at owning their own MLM Internet business. This makes your
MLM O
job much easier and it’s much more effective. Above all, it’s not embarrassing. This is something you can be proud of!
W Y’ R Q Have we mentioned quitting yet? Guess what, this won’t be the last time, either. Why? Because it is such a common occurrence in the business world. People begin with pie-in-the-sky dreams that will never come true without a solid system working for them. When the money doesn’t come easily, they quit. There will be difficult times. We’re not going to deny that in any way. Every business has its tough times. The average person who gets involved with an MLM company talks to three people, then quits. Three people! Why? Because they invite three people to go to a meeting. These people either decline the invitation or say they will come, then don’t—and “Whamo!,” the new MLMer has quit because of rejection and fear. No one likes it. We’re not getting down on anyone for feeling this way. It’s only natural to get discouraged when you’re rejected! With the system we’re teaching you in this book, you will NOT experience this type of rejection, so the fear can all go away. No one is going to throw your business card back in your face and exclaim, “I’m not going to your website!” They may not go. They may not have any intention of going in the first place. But one of two things will happen when you hand your card to them and invite them to visit your website: Either they’ll take your card, put it away, and never go to your website, or they’ll take your card and go to your website. Either outcome is quite painless, so there’s nothing to fear! Now you at least have a chance they will go to your site, whereas the person who has
K F R S
rejected your invitation to attend a meeting definitely is not going to attend a meeting. Talk to everyone you can. Remember, you are not limited by your warm market list. Hand your card to everyone and invite them to visit your website and take the FREE TOUR. (If you are getting sick of us telling you to get people to your website to take the FREE TOUR, sorry, ‘cause we’re not even close to done yet!) Some will. Some won’t. So what? Next! It’s all a numbers game. But now it’s a numbers game of inviting people to visit your website and take a FREE TOUR if they are interested in becoming an Internet Business Owner. (A little different from asking people if they want in on the next big ground-floor MLM deal, don’t you think?) At this point, ask yourself who you want to be: the person who is expected to be a great marketer, a superior salesperson, a seat-filler for opportunity meetings, and many other functions that may or may not fit your style; or the person who simply has conversations, hands out business cards along with an invitation to take a look at a website and take a FREE TOUR, and calls the willing and wanting people who have asked to be called because they are interested in your business and products? It’s up to you. We like option “B” best, ourselves. Next time you feel like quitting, go to Ken’s personal website (www.KenForrest.com) and get the FREE COPY of the e-book version of his book, Dare to Dream. Read it every time you’re feeling distracted, frustrated, or challenged in any way. It’s FREE. Use it! Some naysayers might even take the statement we just made and tell you, “If you have to keep hyping yourself up over and over, there must be something wrong with what you’re doing!” All we can say about these self-proclaimed experts is they are
MLM O
either not personally successful (which is usually the case with these people) or they’ve lost sight of how they achieved their success. Sometimes people become complacent after they have “arrived” and forget all the motivational speeches they gave themselves along the path on those tough days when things looked dismal. Ongoing motivation isn’t a bad thing, it’s a necessary thing! One of our long-time associates, Bryan Waldon Pope, founder of the Marketing Success Institute, has summed up this fact in a way that will make sense to you and the naysayers in your life: “I often hear people say motivational seminars, inspirational books, and other such materials clearly don’t work because the effects fade so quickly. So do the benefits of eating a good meal. But instead of avoiding eating altogether because of this shortcoming, I make sure to eat three times a day!”
You need to motivate yourself every day! Look at the successful people around you. They’re studying, reading, listening, attending, and doing everything they can to stay on top of their game and keep their focus and motivation. You need to do the same. Visualize your goals and dreams. Be very clear on them. Know right now why you’ll never quit. Be a lion today and every day! (More on that later from Ken.) And above all, Dare to Dream BIG!
K F R S
S S Beginning in the next chapter, we’re going to share the details to this rock-solid, proven, five-step system that has made millions of dollars for us, our partners, and many of our clients. You’re going to see that it is very simple. As we’ve already stated, keep it that way! But please, no matter what you do, don’t make the fatal mistake of taking any shortcuts. When people see something that is simple, they often assume it can be manipulated, reworked, or modified. Perhaps the mindset at work in these instances is that if one simple thing works, another simple thing will work as well. This is not the case here. Stick to the proven path. Follow the steps in order and with precision. You may be one of the people who read this book and say, “What are these guys talking about? There are many roads to success on the Internet and in direct sales. What makes them think they have a corner on that market?” That’s a fair question, and we won’t disagree with you. There are many ways to make money with your own Internet business and in direct sales. If you are lucky enough to have already figured it all out, then God has literally blessed you. For those of you who haven’t reached all your dreams yet, please read on with an open mind. There are many elements to this system and reasons why they work. We’re not going to bore you with the historical details of everything that has gone into creating this system. All you need to know is that it works—every time—when you follow it to the letter.
MLM O
A “R” B One of the benefits of packaging your MLM business as an Internet business is that it will attract people with its legitimacy. You have a great website with world-class tools, and they can have the same thing for themselves…instantly. Internet businesses have a prestige about them that attracts people. You’re seen in a better light than others who are building their businesses without a website or with a website that is nothing more than an electronic brochure. Sixty-nine percent of potential customers do online research before making purchasing decisions. It’s just the world we live in today. Your website will add substantially to your credibility and influence, giving you the confidence to go out and build your business without hesitation. Simply stated, most everyone would love to own a successful Internet company, and you’ll be the one ready to show them how. So let’s get your successful MLM Internet business underway!
C
Step #1: Get the System & Learn the 5 Steps
J
UST as you would need a piece of property, a building, equipment, and other elements to successfully own and operate a fast-food restaurant franchise, you need specific tools and assets to be successful in your MLM Internet business. In this case, if you’re paying attention to what we are saying, your business is Internet-based, so you need an Internet business. You need a website. You’re already—or soon will be—a distributor with a great company that has world-class products. Now you need your place of business, which, in this case, is a website. The good news is that you don’t need to go out and create a website for yourself. You don’t need to hire programmers or web designers. In fact, you don’t need to know anything about the web if your company is using a distributor web system that meets the following five criteria: 1.) It is identified as personal and specific to you so that only you get credit for all business that comes through 43
K F R S
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)
it. It must have your name, phone and email address on every page. It must have a FREE TOUR clearly visible on the home page so when you start sending people to your site and telling them to take the FREE TOUR they don’t get confused when they get there. This FREE TOUR must clearly and quickly (under 10 minutes, preferably using video) share your company, product and opportunity with your potential customers and fellow future Internet entrepreneurs. It must be able to ask for and collect a lead at the end of the FREE TOUR. Hopefully it can also give or sell a sample of your product right there and allow a prospect to actually join on the spot with online application forms. In what we will call your back office (it is called many different things in different companies), your system must have great lead management and notification tools. It must also have the ability to send out autoresponder emails to anyone who visited your site and left their contact information. In other words, the system must be able to email your leads a nice message from you even if you are away from your computer. It must also be able to store your leads and allow you to view, forward, email, call, or work these leads in the best ways possible. And it’s really helpful if your web system notifies you every time you get a new lead, make a sale, sign up a new Internet Entrepreneur, or have a team member take a training class. Your system’s back office must have—and we mean MUST HAVE—training modules, classes or videos
MLM O
that all new Internet Business Owners like you and your downline can take at their leisure, over and over, 24/7, from anywhere in the world. THIS IS A MUST! Does it seem like you’ve read this before? You have! Remember, we told you we were going to repeat ourselves and plant these key points in your head. You’ll hear it again, too. It’s all very simple, but it must be done in order, and it must be done right! If your company hasn’t used Solution X, but has copied our system or bought a knock-off of our system, hopefully it still has what you need. (Solution X has patents pending on its automated system of online tours, lead capture, lead response, online sign-up, and training system dating back to 1996 with its founders. Simply put, we were the first and we are the best!) If you find your company doesn’t have the complete system we talk about in this book, contact us at Solution X (SolutionX. com) and we will build a system for you and your downline. Then you just might become the number one distributor at your company like so many of our clients are at theirs!
C
Step #2: Get Business Cards (Marketing Cards)
O
UR approach to business (or marketing) cards is a little different from anything you’ve seen before— and a lot more effective. Our cards have only three elements on them: the company’s logo, your name, and your URL (web address). Why? Because you don’t want to spend your time having a lot of long conversations with people that don’t really get to the heart of the matter. People want to get into all kinds of discussions about how long you’ve been with the company, how the products work, details of the compensation plan, and many other things that really don’t need to be addressed right now. What you want is for people to see how duplicatable the system that is working for you is, and that it can work for them, too. You want people to get to your website and take the FREE TOUR. By providing a business card that only contains the three elements mentioned—the company logo, your name, and your web address—the person to whom you have given the card has only one option if he or she wishes to take action. That option: 47
K F R S
go to your website. This is one of the simplest, cheapest, and most effective ways to build your business. Your prospect has all the information he needs to take the next step and look at your business. Being engaged in the website will be far more effective in telling him about your business than a conversation—in which you may or may not maintain control and which might not go the direction you’d like—would be. The system we’re talking about here has been designed and refined through years of experience and is the best way for most people to recruit others for their business. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this approach. It works! Just to show how complete the Solution X web system is, you even order your cards through it in most cases. You enter a couple items of information, click, and your cards are on their way to you in just a few business days. It’s easy for you, and it will be easy for everyone you recruit into your business. Handing out these cards is the simple and effective way you will keep from getting personally rejected, sort through the people you meet, and find very qualified prospects who like what you are doing and want to get involved. Once again, the system is highly duplicatable and, therefore, highly effective. The system even effectively uses the time between when you order your cards and when they arrive. Let’s see how that time is used in the next chapter.
C
Step #3: Get Trained
G
ETTING trained is extremely important, and we have everything you need to get trained right. You’re going to go through a minimum of four online training courses. They are: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Getting Started Card Marketing Following Up Closing
In these training courses, you will learn all the best practices for using the system we’ve created for you. We’ve made no assumptions about what you know. You’ll get it all from square one. Take these training courses at your website as soon as you’re set up. If you just can’t wait to get into them, you can also take them FREE at either of our personal websites (www. KenForrest.com or www.RodgerSmith.com). The transcripts of these courses are also included at the end of this book for your convenience. You have everything you need to succeed, ready to go for you right now!
49
K F R S
T I M Regardless of what you do in this life, there are others who have gone before you—people who have already traveled the path you’re on. Doesn’t it make sense to benefit from their experience? Absolutely! So look at others who are successful and do what they have done. When these people like you and are willing to help you and share their knowledge and experience with you, they’re called mentors. We’re here to be your mentors, as are many others whose experience and success have gone into this system. Learning under the care of a mentor is the best training you can undergo. And, to make it even simpler, we’ve done the legwork for you and created the systems you’ll need to succeed. When you finish reading this book, go to your website and take all the training classes available for you there. You’ll have a jumpstart on your training that will save you months, or even years, of passing through the learning curve by taking advantage of your mentors. So now it’s your job to study and absorb what we’ve put together for you. And don’t think training is a one-time event, either. To be as successful as you possibly can be, your training will be ongoing. The most successful people in the world are those who never quit learning. Discover a thirst for knowledge and training, act on that thirst, and watch your success soar!
T S T There are two schools of thought you can choose to follow: The School of Hard Knocks or The School of Modeling (and no, we’re not talking about becoming a super-model here). The
MLM O
School of Hard Knocks is one that brings success to many. It certainly isn’t a bad school. It’s just a school that takes a lot of time to get through and has a high dropout rate. Although going through this school to reach your goals is certainly a viable option, it’s not the most effective one. The School of Modeling is one in which the students model their businesses and business lives after those of others who have already succeeded in the same area. Its dropout rate is lower and the success rate of its students is higher. If you’re stuck on wanting to say you forged your own way—you cut your own path through the business jungle—then maybe you need to go to The School of Hard Knocks to feed your ego. But if what you’re looking for is maximum success in the shortest time possible, The School of Modeling is for you. Find your mentors and engage them now! You’ll read a few success stories later in this book that will inspire you and give you some insights into how others have found success in the direct sales industry, but there are other people right in your organization who can help you as well. Seek those people out, meet them, and ask them questions that will help you understand what they did to succeed. They’re waiting to be your mentors. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. These people want you to tap into their knowledge base and use what they have learned for your benefit. Along with discovering for yourself what others have done to be successful, you need to practice. With practice, anyone can become good at anything they want to. It’s all about your mindset. And the more you practice, the more ingrained your mindset will become!
K F R S
U M Mentors are one of the most effective training tools you’ll ever find. They are free, easy to get, and will love helping you. Don’t be proud and think you’ve got it all figured out. That wastes time. Here’s a story from Ken that illustrates just how willing successful people are to mentor those in whom they see passion and potential: “I found one of my early MLM mentors in a man named Mark Hughes. Perhaps you’ve heard of him. He founded a company called Herbalife. In February 1980, Mark began selling his Herbalife weight loss product from the trunk of his car. In 1986 the company went public and began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange. At the writing of this book, Mark’s dream has spread to over 1,500,000 distributors in 64 countries worldwide and has sold billions! “As a teenager, Mark decided he wanted to help people change their lives through better nutrition. He had watched his mother try one fad diet after another—ultimately dying from unsafe dieting habits—and knew there were solutions he could offer the world that would be much better than what they had. Mark was a bona fide genius. I say ‘was’ because, very tragically, Mark is no longer with us. He died in 2000 at the young age of 44 with his company still experiencing substantial annual growth and literally millions of people worldwide regarding him as one of the world’s best salesmen and entrepreneurs. Mark had a lot going for him. “I was a young and impressionable 21-year-old when Mark and I first met, in the late ‘80s, shortly after his company went public. Mark flew me to Los Angeles. His limo took me from the
MLM O
airport to his home in Beverly Hills. I was impressed with what Mark had and wanted this same kind of success for myself. “Mark wowed me for several days with the power of leveraging the efforts of other people to make more money for everyone. I saw—probably for the first time—the real power of getting a small piece of the efforts of a large group of people. It’s just like J. Paul Getty said: ‘I’d rather have one percent of the efforts of 100 people than 100 percent of my own efforts.’ “Mark showed me that MLM is a great—and sometimes the only—way for someone without a lot of time or money to get into business and succeed. “I became an Herbalife distributor and learned the ropes of being teachable and teaching others. I also had the opportunity to work with Mark creating marketing and training tools for his company. In fact, Rodger was working with Mountainland/ Clear Image at that time and we worked together producing Herbalife’s ‘Have You Seen My Video?’ campaign. My experience with Mark and Herbalife was pivotal in the success I’ve enjoyed in the MLM industry over the years. Now that I’ve shared this story, let me go back and make my point about mentors. “By the time I met Mark Hughes, he was already wildly successful. He had a thriving company, beautiful homes, all the vehicles he ever wanted (including a private jet and yachts), and just about everything else anyone might ever want out of this life. What did he need out of a 21-year-old with very little experience in MLM? The simple answer to that question is nothing. But he wanted to help me. True mentors don’t look at what’s in it for them. It’s all about what they can offer others who are following in their path. “Mark understood the mentor mindset, and he lived it.
K F R S
Our working relationship was mutually beneficial, as many mentor-relationships become. But again, a true mentor gives without a view toward what he will receive. Any benefit to the mentor is just gravy. “I’m very grateful to Mark for seeing whatever it was in me that made him willing to spend his time and money to mentor me. There are people out there right now who can see the same things in you. They’re willing to spend their time, money, and other resources to help you succeed. It seems sort of crazy to someone who hasn’t experienced it before, but it’s true! Mentors enjoy giving back. They honestly want to see you succeed. Mentors are never jealous of their protege’s success. They take great pride in seeing their students succeed, knowing they had a part in getting them there.” Your MLM mentor should be a person in your company— ideally, but not necessarily, in your upline. Learn from your mentor. Read everything he or she has written. Listen to podcasts, presentations, and other audio products your mentor has created. Go to your mentor’s website and study it. Participate in your mentor’s conference calls and trainings. In short, soak up everything you can from your mentor! Then…and here’s the important part…copy it! If you can’t find a personal mentor, don’t despair! This book, the system we’re sharing with you, and the two of us (through our websites) can be your mentors for FREE. While we strongly suggest getting a personal mentor as well, you can still achieve success with this virtual mentor approach. Use it. Copy it. Succeed. Become a mentor to others. That’s the cycle that makes MLM work best! Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Take the word of your mentor and spend your energy succeeding!
C
Step #4: Begin Marketing
T
HIS is where you actually go to work. Now you have the tools and training you need to get out there and begin building your business. Marketing is what will build it and make you money! If you market your business properly, you will be able to reach your goals much more quickly than if you market it wrong. That may sound obvious, but thousands of people in the Internet and direct sales worlds hit the pavement every day marketing their businesses in largely unproductive ways. If you’re going to put the time and effort into it anyway, wouldn’t you like to be getting the best possible outcome ? This may sound like a broken record, but the key to your success is right in these pages. It’s the most powerful marketing method out there. Why? Because it was created by some of the most successful people in the industry and refined into the very system they consistently use.
T M There are many types of marketing that people use to build their Internet and direct sales businesses. It’s not that only one 55
K F R S
is valid, but there are some methods that are more effective than others. Again, you’re going to spend your time marketing anyway, so wouldn’t you like to use the most effective method possible?
Media Marketing Media marketing is the type of marketing you normally associate with the word “marketing.” It’s the type of activities most businesses engage in when they market themselves. Media marketing includes things like print advertising, radio spots, vehicle wraps, and so on. Again, there is validity to this type of marketing in the direct sales and Internet business worlds, but to do it right is costly and the payoff isn’t always there. It’s simply too risky for most people jumping into a new MLM Internet business. But hey, if you can afford it, want to try it, and can afford to lose what you invest if it doesn’t work, then go for it. Any way in the world you can find to get more people to your website to take your FREE TOUR, do it!
Internet Marketing Internet marketing is technically a form of media marketing, but it has created a large enough category for itself that most people look at it separately. Marketing on the Internet can include such activities as using search engines, email, and links as vehicles to drive business to your website. You’re probably familiar with the term “search engine optimization,” or SEO, which describes the way a website is constructed to rank as high as possible in the organic search results of search engines like Google® and Yahoo!®. Email marketing uses lists that are built by the marketer in-house or rented from list companies. Of
MLM O
course, there are other methods of Internet marketing, and this book isn’t about exploring all those methods. But please, don’t think we’re saying they don’t work. We just don’t believe they are highly duplicatable, so we’re not spending time on them in this book. If you have the know-how and resources to use such tools, do it! Anything that gets people to your website to take your FREE TOUR is worth doing if it makes sense for your budget, resources, and skill set.
Card Marketing Card marketing is simply handing out the cards we’ve already mentioned repeatedly, along with an invitation to visit your website and take the FREE TOUR. Opening the door with a simple conversation and a card with your web address on it may seem too easy, but it is the kickoff to a system that will improve your closing rate and greatly reduce the time you spend in your recruiting and business-building efforts. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this approach. In fact, the magic of this marketing system lies in its simplicity. Before you’re done reading this book, you’ll be asking yourself, “Why didn’t someone come up with this a long time ago?” Card marketing employs this simple system: 1.) Hand out your cards. 2.) Invite people to go to your website and take the FREE TOUR. 3.) Follow up with those who are willing and wanting— those who leave their information. 4.) Close them or move on to the next person. 5.) Help those who jump on board learn the system. 6.) Repeat again and again.
K F R S
This approach beats asking people to attend a meeting and being told no. It also overcomes the obstacle of scheduling conflicts people may have with meeting times. It’s convenient, it’s no-pressure, and it works! Again, we’re not saying there’s no place for meetings in the process. There is. Once someone has been to your website, taken your FREE TOUR, and decided they are interested, they will want to attend meetings to get ongoing training, meet others in the business, and get the kind of support that is best given in person. Go right now to www.KenForrest.com or www. RodgerSmith.com and take the “Card Marketing” training course. Seriously, put down this book and do it. It’s just a few minutes long and you’ll see exactly how this powerful tool works.
E M Your time is strictly limited, as is everyone’s. Your resources are limited, too. So employing the best possible marketing techniques in your business is of utmost importance. Because of this, we’re going to focus on card marketing as the primary lead generator for your MLM Internet business. With that said, we want to point out that any way you can get people to your website will enhance your business. Card marketing works best for the vast majority of people. That’s why we’re focusing on it. But you can use DVDs, email, print advertisements, flyers, trade shows, home parties, vehicle wraps, or any other method you choose to get people to your website. We’re not saying in any way that these methods can’t work. They can, and they do. Rodger used all of these methods and tools to build his XanGo organization. You’re going to find the tools that work for you in your specific situation. The same will be true of the people you
MLM O
recruit into your organization. You should use all the tools you can as they make sense for you. Most of them are just not as duplicatable as our card marketing system, making this system the perfect foundation for everyone’s marketing efforts. It’s very important that you complete Step #2, ordering your cards, because you’re going to be using those cards every day. Here’s a method that will make card marketing work for anyone: Every day when you leave your house, take at least five marketing cards with you. Promise yourself you won’t come home until you’ve properly placed at least these five cards. Notice we said “placed” five cards. There’s a reason we use this word. You need to talk to the prospect eye-to-eye and tell him about your experience with your business. Then invite him to visit your website to take the short FREE TOUR to learn more about your business and hand one of your cards to him. This is card placement. If you simply leave a small stack of cards somewhere or stick them under windshield wipers at the mall parking lot, you’re not marketing effectively. Distribution in this manner does not constitute placement. This is called littering. So can a business card really make you rich? Perhaps they won’t make you rich by themselves, but as part of a marketing system used over time—consistently—to turn prospects into willing and wanting leads, who then become distributors themselves, who then get the same system you have, along with all the attendant tools, and start handing out cards—just like you did—who then get more customers and distributors…well, you get the picture. This approach and system can make you rich over time if you don’t give up! As you stick with your endeavor, your skills in generating interest in the minds of otherswill increase. You’ll find it easier to get people to your website because you’ve
K F R S
honed your story and identified the hot buttons you can effectively push as you talk with people. Your belief in yourself will increase, which will come across to others as confidence and success. These elements make the system work just that much better for you. First of all, as you’ve already read, you need your website (the right website). Business cards—or marketing cards—are useless without your website in place. And having your website in place is worthless without your cards. You’ve got to have both! They work very closely with each other and create a synergy that simply cannot be attained without having both. Once you’ve visited with someone and given him your card, and he has visited your website, he will receive not only a follow-up from you, but a series of professionally prepared emails that help him get the information he needs and make him feel that you are being attentive to him, even though the system is automated. Along with these emails, you need to be persistent in your follow-up contacts. While the system we’ve created is powerful and highly automated, there is still a need for effort on your part. There is no substitute for good old-fashioned persistence. The difference here is that you’ll be persisting in a tasteful manner that will not make you look desperate or unprofessional. Done right, you can approach all your friends, family members, and associates without becoming a member of the NFL league (that’s “No Friends Left”). Here are a few examples of just how card marketing is executed. Your approach will differ slightly based on the interest and needs of the person you’re talking to. In each case, you hand your card to the person (which, as you’ll recall, only has your name, company name, and web address on it). Then you’ll say:
MLM O
“Are you interested in making money on the Internet? Go to my website, take the FREE TOUR, and let me know what you think.” Or, “If you’re interested in discovering more about the most incredible product you’ve ever heard of, go to my website and take the FREE TOUR, then let me know what you think.” Or perhaps, “Do you make all the money you want to make? If not, go to my website, take the FREE TOUR, then tell me what you think.” Your choice of approaches will depend on whether you feel the person will be more interested in starting a new business, making more money, or using the product or products you have to offer. The signs you need to see to make this determination will usually surface during a casual conversation if you pay attention. Remember, you don’t want to share too much information with your prospect. Getting into a conversation that leads to the person dredging up preconceived ideas about multi-level marketing or other such roadblocks may destroy an opportunity that would come to fruition if you could simply get the person to your website. Remember, you are an Internet Entrepreneur, not an MLM salesman! The system has been created and proven by the best of the best in the industry. It works for us. Let it work for you, too! This is truly one of the rare situations where doing less will actually bring you more. If people want to fish information out of you, continue in your persistence in getting them to your website. Tell them you’ll gladly discuss anything they want after they’ve gone through the FREE TOUR if they are still interested at that point. By doing
K F R S
this you are already selling them without them even knowing it. Once they see how the system works, they’ll realize they don’t need any special knowledge to make this business work for them. This is not an I-know-everything-and-you-need-tobe-as-smart-as-me-to-do-this-business business. It’s simple! As your prospects talk with other people, they need to believe that they can do exactly what you did when you introduced them to the business opportunity. Sticking to the system will ensure this. Use your website to educate. Use the system. Close your mouth! The fact that you only have the company name, your name, and your web address on your card will create curiosity and drive a large percentage of the people you talk to to your website. If someone really wants your phone number, let them know it’s on every page of your website. Get people to your website. Let your Internet website do the hard work of sorting through people to find the willing and wanting. It works! Trust the system and realize that you are perpetuating a duplicatable approach that will bring the same kind of success to your distributors that it has brought to you. The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity. So keep it simple.
C
Step #5: Follow Up and Close
S
OME 80% of the people who request more information about a product or service never receive a follow-up contact. Can you believe that? Eighty percent! These are potential sales that never happen due to lack of follow-up. The system you’re learning about right now creates a business in which this number can go down to zero. That means 100% of the people who request additional information will receive it. And the best part is that you won’t feel like a typical salesperson when you contact them. Our approach is straightforward and very natural. There are no high-pressure tactics or waiving of income checks to try to lure new players into your business. Good news, isn’t it? And it’s about time, too! We have everything you need to get started with confidence. You’ll become a natural at providing people with the right information every time you have a discussion. Following up when promised is essential to your success. Always do exactly what you say you will. As soon as you have a lead in your mailbox (which can go to your email, your phone, or both), act on it! Here are some examples of how you might 63
K F R S
follow up. Find your own style as you go along so your conversations are natural. In any case, make sure your prospect is in front of a computer with Internet access when you have your follow-up conversation. This is absolutely crucial in closing the deal. If they are not in that position when you call, make an appointment to call back. Here’s an example of how such a conversation might go: You: “David, what did you like most about the tour you took at my website?” David: “I liked the presentation on the product. It seems like a good thing. It’s obviously different from the other products out there already.” You: “Yes, we really do have a great product. I’ve been using it for six months now and … [this is where you give your own testimonial of the product].” David: “So besides the product, what about the business opportunity? How long will it take before I’m making any kind of real money?” You: “Well, David, that depends on you. Have you thought about how much time you want to invest in this business? I’m happy to support you whether you want to take off running or you want to build your business a little more slowly. Let me tell you how it worked for me. [Tell your story.]” Once you’re at this point, you’re ready to close the deal.
MLM O
Following is another example of how you might handle the follow-up call. You: “Brent, this is Rodger. I’m responding to your request for more information from my website. What questions do you have that I can answer for you?” Then wait and listen. Most people will be surprised to talk to someone who isn’t pushing their product or business opportunity on them. Let the silence do its work. Give it a few seconds for your prospect to think and respond. If they’ve been caught off guard by the fact you’re not blasting them with information and they don’t respond, you can ask an additional question to prime the conversation pump. You: “Would you like to know how I’m doing with my business?” Or, “Can I assume, David, that you’re interested in owning your own Internet-based business just like mine?” Or, “Would you like to know what the product has done for me personally?” When you get a positive response from the prospect, it’s time to close the deal. You’ve already made sure they are in front of a computer with Internet access, so signing them up will be simple. Unless you’re already experienced at closing, you’ll be on this call with someone from your upline (in a three-way call) who can guide the prospect through the close. This is very important until you’re experienced enough to feel comfortable doing it yourself. Even if you feel you’re ready to go solo and you find yourself in a situation where you don’t feel qualified to answer a specific question, don’t hesitate to say, “That’s a great
K F R S
question. Let me conference someone in who can give us the full answer to that.” You can let the prospect know that your upline is helping you build your business, just like they, and you, will help the prospect build his. When you do this, you’ve initiated a hand-off. This is now your opportunity to sit back, listen, and learn. Take advantage of this moment, as these are great ongoing training opportunities for you. The close continues with you or your upline mentor talking with Brent… “Brent, let me ask you a few questions to see if you can succeed in this business. I gave you my business card and asked you to go to my website to see what the business was all about, which you did, right? You went to my website, took the FREE TOUR, and requested that I contact you with additional information, right? Then I called you and told you my story and how I am doing the business, right? Now I’m talking with you while you’re in front of your computer where you can click on the ‘Join’ button and get your business completely set up while we’re on the phone, totally on the Internet, without any meetings or paperwork. In just a few minutes you’ll have your own website and business cards on their way and you’ll be a distributor, ready to go with your new business. You’ll be able to log in, go to your own back office, and do exactly what I have showed you. You’ll be able to manage your complete business online. You’ll have full access, 24 hours a day, to all the training modules I’ve taken so you can get trained at your convenience. The training will take you step-by-step through everything you need to do to launch your business and begin making money. By the time your business cards show up in a few days, you’ll be trained and ready to go, helping people through the same
MLM O
process I’ve taken you through, and you’ll be building your business just that easily.” Now here is the close: “Brent, can you do this? Because that’s all I’ve done. Sure you can! But as simple as it is, I’ll be here to help you every step of the way. Click on the ‘Join’ button and I’ll you through the process.” Always assume the close. Simply begin taking the person through the process. If you encounter resistance, you can always step back and say, “Oh, I thought you were ready to get going with your business. I didn’t realize you still had questions. What are they? Let’s get them answered for you.” If you continue to get resistance, don’t worry. Again, even with those people who have requested additional information, you’re not going to close all of them. If the prospect isn’t ready, realize that and move on, putting your efforts into working with those who are willing and wanting. But leave the door open for the prospect who isn’t ready now. You can say something like, “I can see that you’re not ready to go right now. No problem! You have my web address and the information I’ve shared with you today. When you’re ready, get with me again and we’ll get you going then. I’ll still be here, making money on the Internet!” Keep it light, but also be serious. This technique is called a take-away. In many cases, it will get the person to change his mind. When he sees that you’re not going to pressure him, he’ll close himself. And if that isn’t the outcome, it leaves the door open and does not burn any bridges with the person. While you could push forward and use some great sales techniques to close the person, you’ll just end up with a distributor in your organization who really doesn’t want to be there. This will harness you with the task of having to motivate people who didn’t want to be there in the first place. We don’t want you
K F R S
to have those problems, so remember this important maxim: Some will. Some won’t. It’s OK. Move on!
B I’ N G S Go to one of our websites, www.KenForrest.com or www. RodgerSmith.com (our Internet businesses), right now and take the “Follow Up and Close” training. It’s FREE! If, after taking that training class, you still don’t think you can do this, YOU PROBABLY CAN’T! (What do you want us to do? Sell you some sunshine? It takes some work to get rich. If you aren’t cut out for this then you should find something else. It’s really that simple. We won’t lie to you.) Some of the most successful people in the network marketing industry are not great salespeople at all—and that is the gospel truth! If only you could see us cringe sometimes when we’re listening to someone who makes over $100,000 a month (or even a week) try to sell! It is truly painful sometimes. But the good news for you is this: THEY ARE MAKING OVER $100,000 a month or even over $100,000 a week! Do you get it? You don’t have to become a great salesperson. You do have to be willing to follow up and close! These rock star millionaires we’re talking about are from all walks of life: military personnel, truck drivers, pilots, teachers, hair stylists, computer nerds, single moms, homemakers…and the list goes on. They simply learned how to effectively use a system, just like the one in front of you, and they didn’t quit. They pushed until they saw their dreams come true! So don’t spend your time reading books on salesmanship or trying to hone your sales skills. Let the system do its job for you while you spend your time sharing your story
MLM O
with others and staying motivated by doing the work. Your enthusiasm and success will become contagious. Here’s a technique that is comfortable for salespeople and non-salespeople alike and is very effective. When you get your prospect on the phone, ask, “How can I help you?” Then don’t talk until they speak. You want to assess their interest. Are they looking for a way to make more money? Are they interested in the product or products you are offering? Maybe they have other motives you’d never think of. Don’t make assumptions and don’t lead them in any direction. Simply wait for them to speak and tell you what they are looking for. They left their information for you to contact them. They must be looking for something! Ultimately, when they speak, they’ll say something like, “I want to make more money,” or “Tell me more about the product you’re selling,” or perhaps, “Tell me more about the company you’re involved with and why you chose to work with them.” You can see that this is where having completed your training and using your upline can be beneficial. Three-way calls involving your upline can be very helpful in the follow-up and close process. Above all, make sure you answer their specific questions and don’t take the conversation in the direction you feel it should go. Ultimately, you’ll want to make sure you talk about the simplicity of the system and all the support you get in building your business, but that will fit naturally into your conversation and may not be at the forefront of the prospect’s mind. Before you ever make the follow-up call, mentally prepare to make the close. Call with the assumption that your prospect is going to buy the product or sign up for a distributorship while you’re on the phone. This is why you never want to have
K F R S
your follow-up conversations without your prospect in front of a computer with Internet access. You want to close them and sign them up on the spot. Here’s an example of the close: “It looks like this is exactly what you’ve been looking for. I’ll help you get going on owning your own Internet company if you can answer yes to these three questions. First, could you get someone to go to your website to take your FREE TOUR by handing them your card and asking them a compelling question just like I did with you? Second, are you willing to jump in and take the training classes I showed you? Finally, are you willing to take personal responsibility to change your life and financial situation using the system and the Internet as I’ve shown you?”
If the answer to these three questions is yes, you go on, “It will take just a few minutes to get you set up, and before we hang up the phone, you’ll own your own website, your business cards will be on their way, your product sample will be on its way, and your business will be launched. You will literally be able to start sending people to your website within just a few minutes, and I’ll be ready to help you take your prospects through the exact same process I just took you through. So click on ‘Start Today’ (or whatever the button on your website says) and I’ll take you through the process.” You’ll find the words that feel natural and work best for you, but they’ll be something close to what you just read. We can’t emphasize enough that the power of this system lies in its simplicity. Don’t feel like you need to make it more involved than what we’ve lined out for you here. It doesn’t need to be. Keep it simple.
C
Putting It All Together
N
OW you have an overview of the five steps you need to take. You can complete step one, getting the system, and step two, getting your business cards, in a matter of minutes at your website. Those are easy. Do them NOW! Step three, training, is ongoing, but you can begin it today as well. Everything you need is available at your website or at one of our sites (www.KenForrest.com or www. RodgerSmith.com) absolutely FREE. Actually, you have already started training by reading this book! Training is all about discovering what people who are already successful in your business know and use every day. In your online back office, you will find training modules you can use instantly and as often as you need to. Get into the system and explore these and the other resources you have available to you. Then set aside some time consistently in your schedule for ongoing training. Be particularly careful during the first couple of months of your business not to get into talking details with your prospects. You’re excited, and you want to share everything you now know with everyone you come into contact with. That level of excite71
K F R S
ment is positive, but since others have not yet been through the process you have, you’ll overwhelm them with all the information if you share too much. Keep it simple. Use the system. Let your site build your prospects’ interest in a systematic and proven way. It can be difficult to refrain from in-depth conversations initially, but as you come to understand the power of the system, you’ll learn to appreciate the advice you’re receiving right now. Enough information to arouse curiosity is good. More information than that can be damaging. Obviously, you’re not going to get a positive response from everyone you talk with. Don’t let this get you down. No business is the right fit for everyone. But if you let the system do its job for you, you’ll have a higher success rate than you would by attempting to accomplish the same tasks on your own. Even better, you’ll save a lot of time letting technology work for you, creating even more of the freedom and flexibility you wanted in the first place when you decided to get into your own business. Remember, when you’re having your follow-up conversations, you’re only talking to people who requested more information about your business. This point makes this process even more enjoyable and productive.
B T One of the benefits of network marketing is you get to work with people you choose to work with. And one element that will make this experience even better is having a strong sense of trust among the people with whom you surround yourself. To build trust you must listen. You need to know what is important to other people. Trust is nurtured in relationships where all parties win, not in selfish, one-sided relationships. Listen to others’ stories. Genuinely care about them as people. You may have
MLM O
great things to offer others, and they may have great things to offer you, but you’ll never know unless you have their trust first. What do they need? More free time? Better health? More money? Look for ways you can help other people. That’s what makes your MLM Internet business work. Listen, then provide solutions that truly meet others’ needs. Think before you speak or act and strive to always do the most beneficial things you can for others. If you can do what we’ve outlined for you in following the system we’ve developed, be caring about the people you work with and have a true desire to help them succeed, running your own Internet MLM business will not only be more fun and rewarding, but you’ll build meaningful relationships that will last beyond the life of the company you’re with. At the end of the day, this is all about people. Remember that as you sponsor people into your organization, you’re taking on a substantial stewardship. This isn’t something to be taken lightly. These people are counting on you. They are building their businesses in good faith, believing that you are serious about your success and your desire to help them be successful, too. This is an important point that too many people don’t understand as they set out in an MLM venture. Treat your people right, both for the sake of your business’s success and because it’s just the right thing to do. It’s all about people!
P When inviting others to take a look at your website and take the FREE TOUR, there are a few rules you should bear in mind that will help you be more successful. 1.) Never pre-judge anyone. You never know what another person’s true situation or desires are. Let them prove
K F R S
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)
6.)
themselves. Assume everyone is a valid candidate from the first words you speak to them. It’s all in the numbers. You won’t recruit everyone you speak to. But if you are persistent and have at least the five conversations that lead to card placement each day, six days a week, as we’ve discussed, you’ll find those people who are interested and ready to make a change in their lives and start their new business with your help. Here’s one guarantee we can make: you will never sponsor anyone you don’t talk to! Take nothing personally. Someone’s lack of interest in the business or overt ridicule of you because of their incorrect, preconceived beliefs is not your problem. This isn’t about you. And it’s not about the people who don’t see the vision of what you have to offer. It’s about the people who are ready to make a positive difference in their lives. Find those people. They are your focus. Respect everyone. Whether they are interested in what you have to offer or not, everyone deserves your respect. Conduct yourself in a professional manner and you’ll have the respect of others as well, whether or not they want to align themselves with you in business. Find other people’s why. They may need to make more money. Maybe they like the product you have to offer. Or perhaps they have a loved one who is in need of greater financial stability. Whatever their why is, you will be able to better serve their needs when you are aware of it. Listen. As a good listener, not only will you be able to better meet the needs of those you work with, but you’ll also learn some new things for yourself. A truly balanced
MLM O
person can learn from everyone. Good listening skills are a sign of a truly educated and successful person.
E Q P When talking with prospects, you need to find the approach that is natural for you and is genuine. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing: You: “Bob, do you think it might be the right time in your life to take a look at a business opportunity that can provide you with a strategy to change your current routine?” Bob: “You mean, like starting my own business?” You: “Exactly. A chance to develop your own incomegenerating, Internet-based business with a professional website and a successful business model to copy. It even offers great tax advantages and very little risk.” Bob: “Well, that certainly sounds appealing. What’s the catch?” You: “There’s no catch. Here’s my card. Go to my website and take the FREE TOUR to see what my business is all about. If you like what you see, I’ll tell you more. If you don’t, I’ll never take another minute of your time with it.”
K F R S
You can see how this puts Bob at ease. There’s no pressure. He has full control. He can look at your site, on his own, and only talk with you further if he likes what he sees. This is very different from the traditional, highpressure approach to recruiting, and it’s much more effective. Another example of a conversation might go something like this: You: “Pete, how’s life treating you these days?” Pete: “Everything’s good!” You: “That’s great. So are you making all the money you ever dreamed of with your job?” Pete: “Are you kidding? There’s always month left at the end of the money. You know how it is. There’s never enough money.” You: “That’s not good. What’s your plan for changing that?” Pete: “I guess I really don’t have a plan. I’m just doing the best I can.” You: “The reason I ask is that I’ve found something I think could help you, just like it’s helping me. Here’s my card. When you get a few minutes, will you go to my website and check out my FREE TOUR? If you’re interested in
MLM O
making money on the Internet like I am now, I’d like to tell you more. If you aren’t interested, I’ll never bring it up again. Honestly, Pete, I think you’re gonna like what you see. And that’s really all I’m going to tell you. So, anyway, how’s the family?” The pattern you just read goes like this: Invite, confirm, then change the subject. You don’t have to say very much. In fact, by being casual and moving on to another subject, you look confident. This instills greater curiosity in others. Curiosity attracts. Desperation repels. Here are a few other conversation openers you might try: “Would you be willing to take a few minutes to take a FREE TOUR at my website if you believed it could change your life?”
*** “Do yourself this one little favor: Take the FREE TOUR at my website and see what I’m doing to make money on the Internet. If you like what you see, let me know and I’ll tell you more. If you don’t, no problem.”
*** “Would you try using a product for one month if you knew it would help you?”
*** “Is the timing right for you to look at alternatives for making more money?”
***
K F R S “Would you like to discover how I am actually making money while I sleep?”
*** “Do you have an interest in owning your own Internet-based business?”
These questions will be answered with a yes, no, or maybe. If the answer is something other than yes, you may want to take a little time to understand the person’s concerns, but don’t spend time on someone who is not ready to take a look. The people who need a nudge from the beginning usually will not keep their commitments for long anyway. You don’t need these people in your organization. You need people who are ready to make a change in their lives for the better and who readily see the vast difference between what you are offering and what they have looked at in the past. Sometimes, when people say no, they are simply indicating that the timing isn’t right. This is why you are always courteous of others and respect their decisions. They may be ready a few months down the road, especially when they see the success you are experiencing. Now let’s look down the road a few days from when you’ve had such a conversation with someone and she’s gone to your website, taken the FREE TOUR, and left her contact information indicating she’s interested in discovering more. Here’s a scenario of the conversation you might have. This is the followup and close: You: “Hi, Brenda. This is Ken calling. I’m following up because you took the free tour at my website and asked
MLM O
me to follow up and give you more information about the business. What did you like about it?” Brenda: “I liked what I saw. The products seem good, and the money-making opportunity is appealing to me, but I have some questions because I’ve never sold anything in my life. In fact, I’ve been in a few MLMs and I’ve never made any money. I really want to know how you think this is going to be different.” You: “I understand. I know exactly where you’re coming from. I want to address all your questions and look at any concerns you have. To start, though, may I ask you a question? Brenda, do you think you could do with someone else what I’ve done with you so far to get you into this business?” Chances are good you’re going to encounter some silence at this point, because Brenda isn’t really sure what you’re talking about. You haven’t given her a bunch of literature on the products or compensation plan. You haven’t told her your top 100 reasons why this is the best thing she could possibly imagine doing with her life. And you haven’t pushed a membership form in front of her along with a dose of high-pressure salesmanship to get her to sign up. If the silence continues, ask the question again. “Brenda, do you think you could do with someone else what I’ve done with you so far to introduce this business to you?” At this point, Brenda will probably answer with a hint of confusion in her voice, “Well, Ken, maybe I don’t understand your question, because you haven’t really done anything yet.”
K F R S
You: “Well, Brenda, that’s where this business is very different from anything you’ve seen before. Let me step back and paint a picture for you of how this business works. There are five steps I use over and over to enjoy success with this business. And they are really quite easy. “The first thing I did was set up a website. Now, I’m no web developer or designer. All I did was click a few buttons and enter a little information, and within five minutes—literally—I had my website. Do you think you could do that with my help?” Brenda: “Well, sure. I guess I could do that.” You: “Good. So the answer to step one is yes, you could. The second thing I did was order some business cards. I clicked into the back office of my website and clicked on a button that says ‘Order Business Cards’ and filled in a couple of pieces of information. Do you think you could do this with my help and order your own business cards? Again, this takes just a few minutes.” Brenda: “I’m sure I could do that. That sounds pretty easy.” You: “OK, so the answer to step two is yes, you could do that. Now Brenda, I want to point out that I’m no salesman. I’ve spent my life working a production job with no direct contact with the customers who bought
MLM O
what I made. I have no training at all in this area prior to what I’m about to share with you. [Of course, you’ll share your real, personal background here, whatever it is.] Step three is something else I did in the back office of my website. The company has provided me with a number of training modules that I listened to at my convenience. They taught me about my website and how to get people to go to it, how to order and use my business cards, what to say to people when I hand my card to them, and how to follow up with people on the phone, just like I am with you right now. This step, getting trained, is something I did during the few days between when I ordered my business cards and when they arrived, so I was ready to use them when they showed up. In this training I learned how to invite someone to visit my website, just like I invited you, and how to follow up, just like I am with you right now. It’s all very straightforward and simple. So, Brenda, if you decided to become involved with this business, would you take the time to listen to these training modules like I did so you understand just how this system works? The training modules are just 15 or 20 minutes each and there are a half-dozen or so of them. Is this something you’d be willing to do in the morning or evening when you have a few minutes over the next few days?” Brenda: “Of course I could…if I decided to get involved.” You: “OK, so the answer to step three is yes, you could, if you choose to get involved. The fourth thing I did was hand you my card the other day and invite you to take the FREE TOUR at my website. Now, Brenda, if you
K F R S
had a website just like mine and business cards just like mine (except with your name and website, of course), and you had been through the training modules like I have, do you think you could hand your card to someone—just like I did with you—and invite them to go to your website to take a FREE TOUR and see how you’re making money on the Internet?” Brenda: “Well, yeah, I guess I could do that. You didn’t say very much.” You: “And I’m not asking you to say anything more than I did. Do you think you could say something similar to what I said to help others go to your website and take the tour?” Brenda: “Well, sure, I could do that.” You: “Good. So the answer to question number four is yes, you could do that. Now, Brenda, the fifth step is the most important. Do you think if someone went to your website and took the tour, just like you did, and left her information asking you to contact her with more information, just like you did, that you could have the same conversation with that person that I’m having with you right now? Because Brenda, if you can do that, which is called the follow-up and close, you will be able to succeed in your business just like I am. Those five steps are all I do to build my business and get paid. The company has created this simple system so people like you and me can be successful without all the headaches
MLM O
that normally go along with trying to start a new business. I just go through the same process I have with you over and over with people I give my cards to and I get a nice paycheck every week, with bonuses and other compensation for my efforts. Brenda, if this seems like something you can do, I’d like to help you get started right now. Go to the top of the page and click on the ‘Join’ button. I’ll walk you through setting up your website, ordering your business cards, and getting started with the training modules so you’re on your way. Then you’ll be ready to go out and duplicate exactly what I have done with you. Then we can look at any other questions you have and either get those answered by looking at the website or getting someone on my team on the phone with us who has been at this longer than I have and has the answers I may not have yet. But the thing to realize, Brenda, is that if you can do the five things I have done—set up your website with my help, order your business cards with my help, take the trainings, invite people to your website to take a FREE TOUR, and call them when they leave their contact information saying they’re interested in hearing more— you’re ready to begin making money. So I’m inviting you to join me and begin your business with my help right now. I appreciate you taking the time to look at my website and take my call. So, where are you at? Are you with me? Do you want to get going right now?” That’s the close. That’s it! Notice that you didn’t get into any lengthy discussion of the compensation plan or the key ingredients of the product. You didn’t talk about fast starts, uni-levels, binaries, bonuses, or other such things. And yet you got Brenda
K F R S
completely sold on the fact she can make money with this business. She doesn’t need to know all the little details before she gets started in this business. Those are the five steps. Simple, aren’t they? Now it’s just a matter of making and keeping your commitment to yourself to place at least five cards a day, six days a week. Do this for the next few months and watch this simple effort transform your life!
C
Persistence Pays Off!
T
HERE’S no miracle potion for success. In this world there are talkers and there are doers. If success were as simple to attain as just talking about it, everyone would be wealthy. There are plenty of talkers out there. The doers—those who are willing to jump in and take a risk—are the ones who ultimately succeed. The beauty of the system you’ve had placed before you in this book, however, is that it eliminates much of the risk you’d normally take in starting your own business, and it provides you with a powerful and proven approach to building your business along with all the tools you’ll need. This is your opportunity to be in the right place at the right time. But it won’t happen without your own commitment and persistence. Remember Rodger’s story about working to recruit Ken? Rodger persisted for three years before Ken went to his website and took the FREE TOUR. Ken instantly caught the vision, became a distributor, and had over 20 people signed up within a few days by using the same system. Persistence! Beginning in chapter 10, Ken is going to tell you about another system that will bring you success in everything you 85
K F R S
do, not just your MLM Internet business. As you read from chapter 10 to the end of the book, you’ll see a strong theme on persistence. Persistence is absolutely necessary for your success. Even with a system as easy to use and effective as the one you’ve just read about, you have to implement it and stick with it to make it work. We’ve done all the work for you in creating the system, but it is totally up to you to either take these tools and apply them in creating your success, or just leave them lying there on the workbench. The sharpest saw, the strongest hammer, the most accurate measuring tape, will not cut, nail, or measure anything unless you pick it up and use it for its intended purpose. So it is with the tools we’ve created. They are absolutely the best tools available for exactly what you are working to build. Whether they are employed in that effort is completely up to you. Commit right now to do whatever it takes to succeed, then persist in that commitment regardless of any resistance you encounter until you’ve succeeded. Ken will share much more on this in chapters 10 through 17.
C
Learning From the Best
W
E talked about mentors earlier. In this chapter are some specific stories of people you can look to as mentors in building your direct sales business. These are personal friends and clients of ours that we can endorse whole-heartedly as people with whom you can’t go wrong if you follow their examples. You may or may not have the chance to be mentored by these people personally. Even if you can’t, you can learn more about them and use them as mental mentors— people from whom you learn without personal interaction. Choose a few of these stories that stand out to you and do some research on these people. They are all heavy hitters in the MLM world. Most have succeeded using their own systems and we in no way mean to imply that we have had anything to do with their success. These people are simply superstars. But they all developed a system of one kind or another and stuck with it until they succeeded. They were not just lucky. Some of them do use the very system we’ve shared with you in this book and are our clients. Others have used our consulting services to help
87
K F R S
build their businesses with the dawn of the Internet revolution. All of them are extremely successful. Collectively, these leaders have made over one billion dollars (that’s $1,000,000,000!) in MLM commissions. They have each made at least $2 million just to be on our list. Several of them make in excess of $4 million per year, and one of them makes over $4 million each month. So pay very close attention! Yes, these people make a lot of money, but beyond that they are also the type of people we talked about earlier when discussing mentors. They know the power of mentorship. They found their own mentors when they were starting out, and now they have mentored thousands to achieve huge success. Study them. Follow them. Succeed with them!
B B Barry Byrd was a systems engineer with Lockheed who had a dream of being a commercial pilot. But when he was diagnosed with lupus, that dream was dashed. Barry was approached by one of his friends, Bill Kirtley, who asked him to try some Tahitian Noni juice. Barry was blown away with the product and saw a great opportunity. (Note that Barry found his own story and testimony of the product. This is important!) Barry is a co-founder (with Robert Dean and Herschel Gibbs) of an organization within the Noni family called T.O.P.G.U.N.®. This group has a system that helps people overcome the poverty mindset and find success. Barry is also a great example of using the benefits offered by MLM to build a solid business while raising a family. He has always worked to make his business conform to the needs of his family—something he points out isn’t possible in most careers.
MLM O
R D Robert is one of the top earners in Tahitian Noni. Robert is a phenomenal recruiter and networker. He makes six digits a month (and is coming up on seven as we write this book) recruiting, motivating, and training his very successful team. He understands that real success comes from helping others succeed. Robert’s story is a perfect example of what is available to anyone who sees the vision of what MLM can do and uses the tools we’ve been talking about in this book to make it happen. Sure, Robert is a very intelligent man. He graduated fourth in his high school class. He received a four-year scholarship to Clark University and Atlanta University, where he majored in engineering and maintained his honor student status. He even owned several businesses before finding the network marketing world. When he saw it, he knew it was the vehicle that would carry him to even greater success. One of the most appealing factors of MLM to Robert is that anyone can get into business with very little overhead. Robert is a client and great friend who exemplifies what we’re talking about in this book. He’s no techno wizard, but he uses the Internet very effectively in building his business. He understands that keeping it simple is what it’s all about. He tells other people how he has built his business. If they want to do the same, he mentors them. No matter what company you’re looking at being involved with in the direct sales world, find someone like Robert Dean before you join and get in that person’s organization. Period.
M E
K F R S
Mark is a Black Diamond Executive distributor with MonaVie. He understands that his success comes in tandem with the success of his team members. To this end, he has worked not only to help his people build their businesses, but in the bigger picture helping all MLM distributors maintain their rights and incomes as an executive committee member of the Distributors Rights Association. Do a little searching on the web for Mark and you’ll find he’s among the most savvy of MLM industry players. He promotes mentorship and systems to grow your business. Working with Mark as our client has been truly rewarding and enlightening.
R F Ricky Frank is an absolute fireball! He has more energy than any human ought to be allowed to have. He is insanely successful and has helped many others travel the path that has been so good to him. Ricky was one of the top distributors in Equinox in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the company got itself into some hot water and fell apart, destroying the businesses of many distributors like Ricky who had worked so hard to build their independent distributorships. But that’s part of what makes Ricky so amazing. He bounced back and is more successful than ever. We use Ricky to motivate and train some of our clients. His story exemplifies the true American dream. Ricky is a downto-earth guy from New Jersey who played football in college and was selling pagers before he got into the world of network marketing. Not only did Ricky succeed, he helps other everyday people like himself excel. That’s what we like best about Ricky.
MLM O
H G Herschel Gibbs was working hard and getting nowhere in the network marketing company he was with when he found Tahitian Noni International in 1997. He struggled with the idea of jumping ship and going to another company, but ultimately decided that sometimes being a leader means doing things that may not be what they appear on the surface. He wasn’t quitting, but rather leading the people who trusted him to a place where he believed his efforts—and those of his organization—would flourish. He was right! Herschel has been very successful in his pursuits over the past decade and has created the lifestyle he always wanted for his wife and two boys. He’s also been able to help many others arrive at their dreams through his efforts—something he’s very thankful for. Herschel knows everyone has the right to choose to stay in their current situation or work to make it better. These words of wisdom from Herschel say it best: “Many of us miss our blessings because we hold on to the past. Trust me, I have a healthy respect for the past, but I only give it power if it can positively affect my future.”
K H Keith Halls is an example of a true winner to everyone who is fortunate enough to know him. He attributes much of his success to having been raised by good parents who taught him to look after the needs of others. Keith says, “I can remember that my mother would talk to each of us kids as we worked. She would say, ‘Keith, find something you can do with your life where you can teach people how to dream and teach them how to make their dreams come
K F R S
true. Teach people that if they mix hard work, dedication and a firm conviction to never quit, their dreams can become reality.’ She also said, ‘Find something to do with your life where you can help other people. Happiness, in all its forms, comes from helping others.’” Keith has certainly followed his mother’s direction and has helped many thousands of people enjoy a better life through his hard work and dedication. After graduating from college, he worked as a CPA. One of his friends approached him about being the accountant for a new company he was starting, and Keith became one of the seven original founders and senior vice-president of NuSkin. Keith served on the board of directors for many years and also helped found Pharmanex. That makes two separate billion-dollar companies Keith has been part of founding and building. As any good entrepreneur does, Keith continued to pursue his dreams. He founded a successful company in the formal fashion industry when he saw a niche that was not being filled. He also saw another MLM company that he felt offered a phenomenal opportunity for its distributors, so he became a key distributor in Synergy Worldwide for four years, doing over $100 million in organizational sales. Keith is currently a free agent, looking for the right company and opportunity to apply his knowledge and success in helping the next group of people in his life. Keith is a gentleman, a business wizard, and the epitome of the perfect mentor.
M H Mark was the founder of Herbalife International and a genuine pioneer, visionary, and genius in the industry. Tragically, Mark is deceased. After beginning his company in
MLM O
an old wig factory in Beverly Hills and building it over a span of 20-plus years into a billion-dollar business with over one million distributors in more than 50 countries, Mark fell victim to a drug overdose. Ken shared his story earlier in this book of meeting Mark and being mentored by him. Through Mark’s mentorship, Ken saw clearly that MLM offered the most level playing field possible for the average Joe to make a go at building his own business. He saw that it is much better than a franchise because the barrier to entry is much lower and the opportunities for success are even greater. Mark was a great personal friend to Ken and worldclass mentor. If you’re willing to wade through all the press surrounding his drug problems and death, Mark is one whom you ought to research and learn from. Regardless of the company you’re with, Mark’s wisdom is applicable and timeless.
M H Mitch Huhem is a super-successful salesman and worldclass motivator. Most importantly, Mitch is a model mentor. Mitch successfully launched and built one of the largest network marketing organizations in the world with Rexall Showcase International. Mitch is passionate about everything he does, and it shows not only in his own success, but in the success of his organization and with those people who use him as a mental mentor. Mitch is a networking superstar. He has created motivational and training materials that have helped thousands achieve greater success in the direct sales industry. Search out Mitch’s materials and see what this guy is all about. You’ll be better for the effort.
K F R S
T J C J Tommy Johnson and his mother Carolyn each spent many years in Corporate America before looking at the network marketing industry. They ended up being recruited into XanGo by Carolyn’s cousin Bob Schmidt. As leaders in that company, Rodger and Tommy got to know each other by hanging out on the beaches of the world, which is one of the great benefits of being a successful network marketer. Distributors get to a point in MLM when work means traveling to Hawaii and hanging out for a few days with your peers and learning from each other, mentoring each other, and training each other. Both Tommy and Carolyn are true students of Network Marketing. Each has a long list of mentors they know personally as well as those they study. They had the unique opportunity of working very closely with the great Bob Schmidt and are perfect examples of learning from and getting everything they can out of those around them. While Bob has passed on, they carry on his legacy with their team and the industry.
MLM O
J R James Robison is a great example of choosing an MLM company and sticking with it. We mentioned earlier in this book that this is a strong path to success. This approach has served James very well. James was with Rexall Showcase International virtually from the beginning. He was a key player in building their success. When Rexall was sold to another organization (which kept the Rexall name), James stuck with the company and continued to be an important part of their success. Ultimately, Rexall Showcase International was part of a merger which was given the name Unicity. James pushed on and became one of the top six distributors in North America for this company. He’s still with Unicity at the writing of this book. We asked James to what he attributes his success and ability to stick with his distributorship through all these changes. He says it’s all about focusing on the right things. “If you focus on what isn’t going your way, you’ll fail,” James says, “but if you focus on your distributors and treat them right, your own success comes naturally.”
B S For more than 35 years Bob Schmidt helped to coach and mentor those in the Network Marketing industry while sharing “The Key to the Vault” training with thousands of distributors around the world. He found top-level success in Amway, New Vision and, most recently, XanGo. But he didn’t find success at the expense of others. He succeeded because he could bring out the best in people. Rodger first got to hear Bob speak live at a training he
K F R S
did for XanGo in New York City. Rodger filled up an entire notepad and still couldn’t write fast enough because everything that came out of Bob’s mouth seemed like gospel to him. Bob taught Rodger two major lessons. First, be coachable. We should be willing to learn from mentors, people who know the business and who have been there and done it. Take notes, give yourself action plans, set goals, emulate those things that you like in your mentors. The second thing is that Bob was tireless in his dedication to his team members: doing training, doing three-way calls, speaking at meetings. He spent his days truly trying to help and mentor his people. Rodger always appreciated Bob for wanting to share his experience and knowledge and expertise with him. Anyone involved in the MLM business would benefit from the CDs and presentations that Bob published. His words, especially those in “Key to the Vault,” are certainly worth listening to and following.
J T James Tucker is a hard-working man who saw all his efforts and rental properties go down the drain when his mortgage and real estate pursuits went bust and he had to file for bankruptcy. After getting into network marketing with Tahitian Noni International, James realized the reason his previous business ventures hadn’t panned out was a lack of mentoring. He found that mentoring at TNI. Now that James’ life is at the other end of the financial spectrum from where it was just five years ago, he says he forgets how he was living back then. James has a piece of wisdom we’d all do well to heed: “People without vision perish. You have to see yourself [as being] successful…” James has vision. He’s
MLM O
living that vision and helping others do the same—having become, himself, the mentor he so desperately needed just five years ago. Catch James’ vision by searching him out online and discovering more of what he has to say.
D W Dell is one of the founding distributors of Tahitian Noni. We’ve worked closely with Dell in creating his marketing system—just like the one we’ve shared with you in this book. It’s now in five languages, with more on the way! Dell has dozens of millionaires in his organization, many of whom came from non-MLM backgrounds just like Dell. Dell was an airline pilot with Delta Airlines for years. He was over 50 years old when he left that career and got into the network marketing world. This is what we like most about Dell’s story. He doesn’t come from MLM royalty, and he wasn’t a career MLMer. He was just a guy like so many others out there who caught the vision of the possibilities offered by direct sales, went to work, and persevered. Dell has had Ken train his people all over the world. He knows very well that his success is a direct result of the success he helps create for others. Dell is a man to watch and learn from.
G Y Gene is one of the bona fide pioneers of networking and the proud owner of Las Vegas’ most expensive and high-tech home. He is considered by many to be the wealthiest and most successful network marketer in the world. He is the top-earning distributor with Forever Living Products, a line of aloe-verabased products.
Gene got into the MLM game a few decades ago while teaching school in Japan. He is widely credited with introducing network marketing to the Asian region. Interestingly, while Gene is of Japanese descent, he actually grew up on a potato farm in Idaho. He learned early on how to work hard, and employs his drive, determination, and willpower in everything he does. His success reaches into realms beyond MLM, including real estate. He even owned the land on which the McCarran airport in Las Vegas—the eleventh busiest airport in the world—sits before he sold it a couple of years ago. This man is sharp! Although he’s not a computer guy, Gene saw the opportunities held by the Internet for the MLM industry and began to investigate the possibilities. That’s where Gene and Ken connected. In 2005, they got together and spent several days at Gene’s home in Las Vegas consulting on an Internet-based marketing initiative. Gene is living proof of the abundance mentality and the power of networking. Gene gets it. And because he gets it, the lives of thousands of others have been blessed. We could go on talking about other super-successful friends and clients who understand the real power of networking, but you get the idea. Use these mentors along with the ones you work with personally in your organization to give yourself every advantage possible. Learn from the best!
C
Dare to Dream Big!
W
E’VE shared with you a very manageable five-step approach to building a downline online and achieving success in the MLM/Internet world. We hope you’ve taken note, because this system is absolutely the key to your success. Now Ken is going to introduce another system to you. It also consists of five steps. Although they are not the same as the five steps we’ve already shared with you for MLM Internet business success, they are equally important, powerful, and proven. There’s one big difference between the two sets of steps: The system we’ve already shared with you is specific to building your MLM business, while the one Ken is going to share with you now applies to everything you do in your life. It will add to your success in using the system we’ve already shared and, if you choose to really take ownership of it, it can bring success to you in everything you do in your life.
*** This is an abbreviated version of my story. The more complete version can be found in my book Dare to Dream (your free e-copy is available at www.KenForrest.com). While the following few excerpts will give you a good idea of my system for success and how to apply it in your life, the additional detail in my book will be helpful to you if you’re serious about taking your success to the highest possible level. 99
K F R S
T A I live my life by taking action. Sitting around thinking about things happening isn’t going to make them happen. Fear is what keeps people from acting. I know if I take action, things will come together to support the action I’ve taken or the direction I’m headed. W.H. Murray says it well in this verse, entitled:
THE POWER OF COMMITMENT: Until one is committed there is hesitancy, A chance to draw back, Always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, There is one elementary truth, the violation of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; That, once one definitely commits oneself, Then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, Raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidence, Meetings, and material assistance, Which no man could have dreamt Would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect For one of Goethe's couplets: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, Begin it; boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
MLM O
No truer words have ever been spoken. When you begin, having done your homework and legwork, providence does move as well. Streams of events do roll forth from the decision and action. All manner of unforeseen opportunities, meetings, and material assistance come your way—literally things you could not have dreamt. Mr. Murray is absolutely correct.
T O As I see it, everyone has only two options: accept things the way they are, or go out and make something different happen. Dare to dream! No one is going to hand it to you. No one is going to do it for you. If you want something different from what you currently have, it’s up to you—and only you—to go out and make it a reality. No one but you can keep you from reaching your dreams!
By the time I was 22, I had founded and built a company with over 100 employees, with multiple offices and sales of over $1,000,000 monthly. (That’s monthly, not annually.) Between the ages of 25 and 40 I bought, zoned, developed and sold over one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in real estate. By the time I was 29, I had become a National Training Director and six-figure-income earner in the MLM industry, and I’ve been addicted ever since! As I mentioned earlier in this book, my quantum leap came when I was 21 and was mentored by Mark Hughes, the founder of Herbalife. At the age of 30, I started a sports-themed dot-com company. In three years, I built it from an idea in my home office to a four
K F R S
hundred-fifty million dollar ($450,000,000) valuation publicly traded corporation. It is still in business today. At 36, I lost my personal fortune of over $60,000,000 (that’s not a typo—60 million dollars) in the stock market, bad real estate investments and a divorce. Bankrupt and divorced, I started over and in less than 18 months my business partner, Tim, and I built a chain of Internet companies with over $1,000,000 in monthly sales, with no employees, no investors, and no offices. At 38 years old, I decided to write a book about some of my experiences and become a teacher or speaker so I could share my crazy stories and experiences with others. Needing professional speaking experience to do this, I applied for a job for the first time in some 20 years. I was told to go away—that I wasn't good enough and lacked the skills for the position of professional speaker. I’ll admit I didn’t even know there was such a thing as “professional” speakers. I was naïve enough to believe that everyone who was on a platform sharing expert advice had actually done the things they were talking about and were speaking from experience. Knowing that in fact I didn't have a clue what a “professional” speaker was supposed to do, but wanting to learn, I moved forward. I didn't let a little thing like being told I was no good stop me. I didn’t take no for an answer. I called and emailed the employer who had told me I was no good for two weeks almost daily and asked for—and was eventually given— an entry level job at the company, literally carrying boxes and writing name tags for people at events. I was working for less than 10 dollars an hour—while making over $20,000 a month from my part-time Internet business—while speakers who had
MLM O
never owned a successful business, much less an Internet business, were making tens of thousands of dollars a week to stand on stage and basically lie. (That may sound a bit strong, but the people listening believed these people knew what they were talking about from personal experience, and that wasn’t the case with most of them.) It was a very humbling experience for me. Now that you know a little bit about me, you can likely guess what happened next. Within 90 days I had one of the top speaking slots at the company out of the 16 speakers in my category. Four months later I quit when the corporate boss didn't keep his word and give me a shot at bigger money. Motivated to make things happen fast, I talked to an investor the very next day and pitched an idea I had for an Internet-based sales training company. I quickly raised $250,000 and, within 36 short months, was serving clients in the MLM industry with over 15 billion dollars (that’s nine zeros: $15,000,000,000) in annual sales. I have had spectacular failures in business: losing tens of millions of dollars in real estate, computer software, publishing and the stock market. I have lost two homes. I have lost a wife. I have lost friends. I have lost my good credit. I’ve learned, however, that you can only lose, for real, when you quit; and my quitting days are over. But I have also had some phenomenal successes. I have also made over $70,000,000! I have traveled the world—first class. Twice I have taken companies from idea, to garage, to public. And I have recruited major players who have believed in me, my dreams, and my passion. These people include executives & CEOs from Fortune 500 companies like Nike, Novell, Wilson, Goldman Sachs …and the list goes on. I have spoken in front of, trained, motivated and inspired
K F R S
hundreds of thousands of people around the world on the subjects of setting and achieving goals, developing vision, sales, and becoming more successful entrepreneurs. Today I am a successful (most days) salesman, entrepreneur, speaker, and author. I spend my time between my homes in the mountains of Utah and the southern coast of California. I travel as I please, and I enjoy my life and family. Do I believe in the power of dreaming big? You can bet your life on it.
C
How to Succeed in Business
I
S there a formula for business success? Absolutely! And you’re lucky enough to be in the right place to discover it. Although the formula itself is simple, properly and consistently applying it is just plain hard work. It’s tough! If it were easy, everyone would do it. So before we go any further, ask yourself this: Are you ready to make a change? Are you ready to do the difficult things that need to be done to take you where you say you want to go? There’s an old saying along the lines of, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” If what you’ve done has got you where you want to be, that’s great! I hope I can add to that. If it hasn’t, pay close attention. You’ve already received the simple, yet extremely powerful five-step system you will use to market your direct sales business. Add to that what I share with you in the next few chapters and you’ll find similar success in everything you do. It doesn’t matter if you’re building a business, raising kids, or working to become an Olympic athlete, this approach to success works every time you apply it and follow through. 105
K F R S
It goes a lot deeper than you might think at first glance, but I’m going to share the success formula and five steps with you right up front. That way you can pay attention to the details as you read and not be wasting your time trying to piece together what the formula and steps must be. Success Formula: The Right Opportunity + The Right Tools + The Right Actions ___________________ = Success Every component of that simple equation is necessary. Only with all the components—working in concert with each other—can you create success. Now you know the formula. Let me share the five steps that you’ll use to implement that formula in your life. But first, let me point out that while there are exceptions to just about everything in life, there are no exceptions to these five steps. Let me say that again: 5 Steps, No Exceptions!
S S Step 1: Dream Step 2: Tool Step 3: Train Step 4: Start! Step 5: Finish!
MLM O
You may be saying to yourself, “This guy is off his rocker! This is too simple. There’s got to be more to it than this.” Nope. That’s it. But don’t fool yourself. There’s more to each of those steps than you’re aware of right now. You’ll be surprised both at how straightforward success really is and how complicated any given step can become in the process of making it a reality. Stay tuned! People who only see the stuff I have (because the people who really know me know nothing in my life has been easy) have asked me, “Ken, you make it look so easy. Is there a shortcut to success that you’ve discovered?” Yes, actually, there is—but just one: luck. Luck is the only shortcut to success. Unfortunately, you just can’t count on it! But while you can’t count on luck, you can count on yourself. You have the power to decide what is—and is not—going to happen to you. Again, it’s just plain old hard work, but it’s doable.
C
Step 1: Dream Big
A
T one point in Lewis Carroll’s story, “ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” Alice finds herself at a crossroads and asks the Cheshire cat for directions. The conversation goes like this: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” replies the cat. “I don’t care much where…” “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
If you don’t know where you’re going, you will go in circles or in the wrong direction indefinitely. While this may seem obvious, very few people take the step of clearly defining their dreams. They must feel that dreams are something we have when we’re semi-conscious—something we never intend to act on. My definition of dreams is very different from this. My dreams are what I see before I go and make reality happen. 109
K F R S
They are very real. They are the beginning of my map to success. Ask yourself these four questions about your dreams to begin creating your own map: 1. What do I really want? What are your dreams? Are they just pie-in-the-sky whimsy, or do you really see yourself obtaining them? 2. Am I dreaming big enough? Are you pushing yourself? Stretching yourself? If your dream is easily attainable, you’re not getting everything you can out of the journey. Raise the bar. Increase the incline. Jumbo-size the prize. Dream BIGGER! 3. Am I clear as to what my dreams are? We’re going to talk more about this later, but start by getting specific about your dreams. Can you see the outcome? Can you describe details of the dream? 4. When will I attain my dream? Set a date. How badly do you want it? Make it realistic, but make yourself push to meet the deadline. Nothing will help you visualize and attain your dream more than putting it in writing. Now that you’ve had a chance to think a bit about these questions, go back and consider them a little more. Then put your answers to those questions into writing.
S T L F You can take little steps to success. Or, if you're a bit more aggressive, you can run. But if you're really going to make it big,
MLM O
you need to become a Frogger. Froggers are people who break the rules of conventional thought. They typically skip steps two and three and simply: 1.) dream, 4.) start, 5.) pray they finish! (I love Froggers!) Conventional thought says you must crawl before you walk, walk before you run, and so on. The Frogger approach suggests this is not the case. Froggers dream BIG and they hop right over the conventional steps to the top. Froggers believe you might as well aim for the top. There is no reason to slowly work your way up the food chain. Most successful businesspeople are Froggers. There simply isn't enough time to accomplish truly incredible things if you don’t start thinking BIG and get outside your box. Stop seeing what you have been or what other people think you should be and start seeing what you see yourself being in your wildest dreams.
G V C Are you clear as to what your dream is and how you will reach it? Can you clearly and specifically articulate your dreams? Do you know exactly what you want? Being clear means more than just having a list of points about your dream, it means being very specific as to how those points work together and get you to your goal. Here’s an example of how you might go about clarifying your dream: I want to be rich. This is unclear and definitely not specific enough. What does it mean to you to be rich? The answer to this question will be different for everyone. I want a nice house and a lot of money in the bank. This is better, but it’s not there yet. Again, what constitutes a “nice”
K F R S house or “a lot” of money? Let’s get more specific—more clear. I want a $5 million ski-in-ski-out home in Vail, Colorad,o with a six-car garage for my Lamborghinis. I want 10 million dollars hard cash after taxes: 5 million in the bank, 3 million in gold bars in my safe, and 2 million in the stock market. Now we have it! This is very specific, very clear.
Your dreams cannot be points of confusion. They cannot be fuzzy. They must be crystal clear in your mind and on paper if you want them to really happen. What you are going to learn is that you can—and will—make your dreams come true, for better or worse. So you have to know what you really want or your brain will give you exactly what you thought you wanted. Being clear helps you remain focused. If you aren't clear, or if your dreams are too fuzzy, you may get sidetracked and not even realize it. By being very clear about what you want you will remain focused along your journey—or, at least, recognize when you have left your path so you can get back on track. And don't forget that being clear also means being careful. Following the formula and steps I’m sharing with you will result in your attaining your dreams. You absolutely will succeed. So make sure you really want what you’re shooting for and you’re very clear on that target, because you are going to get it.
G H D Now that you’re clear as to what your dreams, goals, and aspirations really are, when will you realize them? Do you have deadlines set?
MLM O
You have to put dates on your dreams. Yes, this undeniably turns them into goals, but for the sake of this book—and in my own life—I like “dreams” a lot better than “goals.” Remember when I talk about dreams, I’m talking about concrete visions of your future you are going to arrive at. So, what is the ultimate date for achieving your dream? What are the dates you’ll reach the incremental steps along the way? It's too easy to procrastinate and never get moving if you don't have a definite timeline established. Do it now. Write it down.
G P… G O Are you committed to and passionate about achieving your dreams? Passion is to dreaming what oxygen is to fire— MANDATORY. If you lack passion your dreams will die like a suffocated fire. If you’re already passionate about your dream, good! If you’re not, find your passion or get out now. You won’t succeed the way you’d like to in your superficial dreams anyway, so you might as well save the time and energy. Get real with yourself right now. If you lack passion, find it before moving forward.
C
Step 2: Tool
N
O matter the job you’re doing, you need to tool correctly for it or you simply won’t be successful. You gotta have the right tools! And you need to know how to use those tools. If you don’t, get trained by someone who knows how to use them. Training itself is also a tool! Most people fail because they are naïve, inexperienced, not committed enough, or sometimes just unlucky. In any case, they don't get the right tools in place before they start the job.
T F T The first tool you need is your list of tools you need. What do I mean? Well, if your dream is to build a house, you first need to make a list of all the things you are going to need to build the house. You'll need a parcel of property, architectural plans, excavating equipment, lumber ...and the list goes on. Then you need to get all the things on your list or at least be prepared to get everything on your list in the order it is needed, one way or another. Now, I am not suggesting you need everything before you start. Remember, Froggers get started now! If you wait until you 115
K F R S
have everything perfect you might never get going. Successful people do what they can to prepare, but more importantly, they begin. They take action!
T S T Another tool you need is your plans, your blueprints. Some plans are fancy. Some are simple. But you need some sort of plans. Having a written plan—even a simple one—is a critical tool for your success. A well-written plan will keep you from wasting your most valuable asset: your time. When considering your direct sales business, I’ve already given you the best tool you can have. The system outlined earlier in this book is proven and highly effective. Don’t spend a lot of time trying to tool up for that specific project. Many others have already done it for you, and I’ve brought it to you packaged nicely with a bow on it. Just be a Frogger and go get started…TODAY!
F M I already talked about mentors earlier in this book, but I want to mention them again here. Getting the right mentor (or mentors) is absolutely crucial to your success. You have some great examples of mentors in your industry that I’ve shared with you already. If you can, connect with them, or people like them in your organization, directly. If you can’t connect personally, learn everything you can about them and how they got to the point they are at now. Read their books, listen to their CDs, attend their seminars. They have walked the path you’re on. They’ve already reached the destinations you are eager to
MLM O
reach. They’re happy and willing to help you get there too. Take advantage of that.
G C When it comes to tools, some of the sharpest, hardesthitting, most effective tools you can have in your tool belt are connections with the right people. You’ve heard the old saying: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know I don’t agree with this 100%. You better know your stuff. But I can promise you that you can know your stuff all day long and it won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t have the right connections. So how do you go about getting connections? Froggers simply go for it. Got your tools? Great! Let’s learn how to use them.
C
Step 3: Train
Y
OU can have a rock-solid dream and the best tools available and still not succeed. Think of a profession with which you are not familiar. What tools do people in that field use? If you were thrown into a situation where you were expected to use those tools, could you? Of course not! The situation here is no different. Simple question: Do you already know what you need to know to effectively work your plan? Do you have the skills, knowledge and resources to use your tools and reach your dreams? Ask yourself honestly: "Do I believe I can reach my dreams with the experience I already possess, or do I need to spend some time obtaining additional knowledge, experience or skills?"
I’m not going to go any deeper into training at this point because I already dedicated a large portion of this book to that very topic. Whatever your dream, whether its being a supersuccess in your MLM Internet business, running a marathon, or becoming an expert stamp collector, you need to train. Begin your training today and never, ever quit training. This is the 119
K F R S
hallmark of truly successful people. They know there’s always more to know. There are always performance benchmarks to be broken. Whether mental, physical, or otherwise, ongoing training is absolutely key to your success.
C
Step 4: Start!
M
OST people quit before they really even begin. They may have a dream—not by my definition, but by the world’s definition of being a dreamer, a visionary, someone who has grand plans with no concrete action to back them up—but that’s where it ends. There’s no acquisition of the right tools to complete the job. There’s no training, no development of the skills needed to reach the dream. Without those things, you can’t legitimately start. You may think you have begun something; but you haven’t. If you’ve taken the time and invested the energy to tool up for the job and go through the arduous task of getting the training you need to complete your journey, you’re probably already feeling burned out and have—at least once or twice— considered abandoning your dream. This is where another round of cuts takes place. Are you one who not only has the fortitude to complete the necessary legwork to assure your success, but the strength to take that first step and begin with full intent? The fallout at this point is significant. Many do not make it past this crucial juncture. But you have a dream. Not a flimsy, fleeting dream, but a rock-solid dream—your vision of what
121
K F R S
you will accomplish, what you will experience, what you will do.
S O When you start—when you begin in earnest the actionpacked journey toward the realization of your dream—you will see things you did not see before. You will have opportunities present themselves that you will be prepared to act upon. And you must act on them. Remember what W.H. Murray said? … That, once one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidence, meetings, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way… Don’t sell yourself short on this point. I can unequivocally testify to you that this is true! I’ve lived it over and over again.
T C. T A They say talk is cheap…and they’re right! A person can complete the first three of these five steps almost without even leaving the house. No one, not even those who are close to you, may even know about your dreams. But when you execute the fourth step—when you start the journey in earnest—that changes. And it changes fast. This step is all about action. It’s about going for the gold! We’ve all heard these words and phrases. We’ve even said them ourselves on many occasions. They are words that are simple to speak, but so hard for most people to do.
MLM O
I'll bet you have worked through steps one through three in your mind more than once without even realizing it. Maybe you had a business idea. Perhaps it was a personal-improvement goal related to fitness or some other aspect of personal development. Whatever it was, for some reason it came to a screeching halt when you hit the fourth step—when it was time to really begin. Steps one through three are easy. Time consuming, perhaps, but easy. Step four is the wall!
D The only way I know to get over the wall if you are having a hard time is to find the real reason behind your pursuit of your dream—the why that will keep you going. Why do you have this dream in the first place? If you can't find a good enough why then you will never get over the wall. You will never start, much less finish and succeed. And before you finish and succeed, you’ll fall down along the way—most likely a number of times. That’s part of the journey. Just remember that failure isn’t final; it’s just a step in the process of success. The only real way to fail is to quit! When Thomas Edison finally hit on the right formula for the light bulb, he hadn’t failed some two thousand times; he had succeeded in finding two thousand ways to make a light bulb that didn’t work. That’s the kind of view you need to have of your own situation. Don’t be a glass-half-empty type of person. Always look at how much is in the glass, not how much is missing.
K F R S
L L L There’s a saying I live by. I teach it to my kids. I practice it every day. I’ve tried to find its origin, but have not been able to definitively do so. No matter. It’s powerful and it’s true, so where it came from is immaterial. Better to live one single day as a lion than a thousand years as a sheep.
If you don't believe me, you’ve never tried it. Go ahead. Pull out all the stops. Live one day as a lion—whatever that means to your situation. Dream big. Then aggressively follow the steps I’m sharing with you in realizing your dream. Don’t let anyone or anything get in your way. See for yourself how it really feels. The bottom line is this: You may or may not succeed if you choose to pursue your dreams. But you will absolutely fail if you do not pursue them. Go!
C
Step 5: Finish! Focus or Fail
S
UCCESS requires focus. Focus allows you to get to the finish line. Ask marathon runners how they run 26.2 miles and most will tell you they do it by focusing on the next step. At some point, that next step is the last step. They cross the finish line. Even if you have steps one through four perfectly completed, a lack of focus can lead to ultimate failure. You won’t finish. You cannot allow yourself to get sidetracked. If you lose focus and get sidetracked, you better realize it quickly and get back on course!
E N What or who in your life is not helping you achieve your dreams? Whatever or whoever it is, get rid of it. That's right, get rid of it. Thoughts, habits…anything that doesn’t help you reach your dreams needs to go. Have you ever watched a bunch of crabs in a bucket? One crab will begin to work his way up the edge of the bucket and finally get hold of the top rim. Then he’ll get his other claw 125
K F R S
over the top and begin to pull himself up in an effort to go over the edge. But no crab ever makes it out of a bucket when there are other crabs in the bucket with him because the others will always grab him and pull him back down before he makes it over the top. Thankfully, people are not all like crabs—just most of your family and “good” friends. They’ll do anything—anything— to make sure you never get what they know they’ll never get. You want to be in the bucket with the people who are working together to launch each other to new heights, not the bucket where everyone is tearing each other down and making sure no one exceeds the status quo. Winners understand there is no benefit in pulling someone else down. It only hurts you and others. Eliminate the negative, whatever it is. Supplant the negative with positive influences, activities, mentors, coaches, and education.
V Y V See yourself as already being at the finish line, having already reached your goal, having succeeded beyond your wildest imaginations. Dream bigger. See yourself consistently exceeding your goals—by double, triple, even a hundred times your initial thoughts of what is possible. Can you see it? If you can’t, you have a serious problem. You have to be able to see yourself as if you already have achieved success. This is critical. You have thought it out, written it down, planned it, studied and trained for it, and committed to achieving it. It is time to BELIEVE and SEE it in your mind as if it has already happened.
MLM O
Plan out your acceptance speech. Buy your "skinny" clothes. Decide where you will spend or invest your money. Decide where you will live. Identify your dream home. Find the car you will drive. See the type of family and marriage you will have. Plan the time you will spend with your loved ones. Decide how much time and money you will give to charity and service.
Jack Nicklaus said, “I won every golf tournament I ever won in my mind on the way to the tournament before I actually won it.” Have you already won your “tournaments” in your mind? Can you visualize yourself as the person you want to be? If you can answer yes to both these questions, you’ve got what it takes to finish! If not, find it in yourself to genuinely see and believe in your victories. This is a must!
C
Recapping the 5 Steps to Success
I
know these steps sound simple—almost too simple. But don’t let their simplicity fool you. This is a tried-and-true approach that I’ve lived for two decades now. If you follow these steps cognitively and consistently, you will succeed—you will reach the top!
S : D BIG I’m not talking about mindless daydreaming here. I’m talking about visualizing your future reality. As I said earlier, my dreams are what I see before I go and make reality happen. If you’re going to make your dreams a reality, you must think— and act—like a Frogger.
S : T First, you need the list of tools you’ll need. Second, you need a plan—a blueprint to follow. You may need to gain or enhance the skills necessary to complete the plan. Get connected with the people who can help you make your dream a reality. 129
K F R S
S : T Just like an athlete needs to train for a competition, you need to train for the experience you’re heading into. Find at least one good personal mentor and one good mental mentor. If you can, get more than that. The more people you can tap for knowledge and experience, the better off you’ll be. Take your training seriously just as if you were training for a sporting event.
S : S Commit to yourself and seize opportunities that will help you fulfill your plan. Be prepared for the pain. Resolve that there is no quitting. You will succeed!
S : F Get rid of the negative influences that stand in your way of success. See the finish line and don’t slow down. Persevere, and never, ever quit!
T I Y P Where have you failed in the past? Review these five steps and see where your weaknesses lie. Do you fail because you don’t believe in your own dreams? Is it because you don’t prepare properly by tooling up for the job? Perhaps you don’t train effectively and, therefore, find yourself without the stamina, know-how, or support necessary to make it to the end of your journey. Then again, you may be one of the masses who have
MLM O
good intentions but falter when it comes to actually starting. Making your dream known to the world is just too much for you. You can’t bear the thought of laying it all out on the line for everyone to see because they’ll all know when you trip. Are you past that? Then maybe you’re one who just can’t seem to finish what you start. It’s usually a long road between start and finish. Do you have what it takes, or do you get beat down and give up—quit—before reaching your dream?
S F Once you know why you’ve failed in the past, take time to do some serious introspection. What does this revelation tell you about yourself? More importantly, what can you do to fill this pothole or remove this obstacle from the road you’re traveling? You must be honest and open with yourself and clearly identify what will be different this time so you never quit again. Remember, failure isn’t final, quitting is. Quitting is the only real way you can fail!
N I’ U Y If you read this book, you have your reasons. People without dreams don’t read books like this. Decide on the dream you are going to achieve. Then follow the steps I’ve given you, and you will succeed. Dream BIG! No Fear! Never Give Up! For more information about the authors, please visit www.KenForrest.com and www.RodgerSmith.com
K F R S
“Live at least one day of your life as a lion. Please don’t die having only been a sheep.” --Ken Forrest “At the end of the day, it’s all about people. Do the ‘people’ part of your life right, and the rest will take care of itself.” --Rodger Smith
